


Responsibilities of the Idealistic

by Sherlock_Brolmes



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Overwatch, Alternate Universe- Superhero, Multi, Sentai Genji Shimada, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29194656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlock_Brolmes/pseuds/Sherlock_Brolmes
Summary: Genji Shimada, in his day life, was ordinary. He wasn’t going to call himself boring or nothing special- he couldn’t bring himself to that, and he didn’t think he was anyway.A year had gone by since his father’s passing, and Genji’s older brother, Hanzo was doing his best to take care of Genji, who inadvertently found himself to be a bit of a troublemaker. However, things had begun changing for Genji, and he’d say for the better.Genji had good friends- and a crush on who was essentially the epitome of cool in school. Genji was popular enough- amongst the students, not so much the teachers in a positive light- and he’d been happy enough.His real excitement in life, however, came from what happened at night.He was the city’s protector, a superhero clad in green known as Sentai. The badass, efficient icon who protected New Unity from villainous clutches- or just your general evil or criminal activity. He had a bright view for the present and the future.But as his life starts to change in unexpected ways, Genji must simultaneously face growing up in the normal world, and maintaining his responsibilities in the super one.
Relationships: Fareeha "Pharah" Amari/Brigitte Lindholm, Genji Shimada & Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Genji Shimada & Hanzo Shimada, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, Lúcio Correia dos Santos/Genji Shimada, Sombra | Olivia Colomar/Satya "Symmetra" Vaswani
Comments: 11
Kudos: 23





	1. Daily Deflections

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy Sentai!Genji maybe a bit too much, and I've been wanting to make something like this for a very long time. I never really knew what until recently, but I hope this fic to be a good exploration into Genji's mind, relationships, passions and morals, as well as being a reasonably cheesy teen hero story.

The light shining through the window, fragmented by the skyscrapers of the city dappled over the living room, where Genji was draped over the couch, absentmindedly flipping through channels. The scent of food- ramen, a simple favorite of his- wafted through the apartment. Genji let his legs hang over the arm of the couch, tiredly staring at the television resting between two large, potted plants. 

He yawned, rubbing his eyes, then running his hand through his messy green hair. He hadn’t put on any makeup for the day, but he hoped he didn’t have any obvious eyebags for his sake. 

Genji had an hourglass figure, as well as strong arms and big hands, and his eyes were narrow, dark and pretty. His nose was pointed, and he had sharp features, although they hadn’t quite come into full fruition due to his age. Despite this, though, Genji already considered himself to be extremely good looking.

He crossed one leg over the other, thumping his ankle against his lower leg, stretching out his torso. He was exhausted, but he was sure once he got some food in his system, he’d be fine. One of the many blessings of his superpowers- a whole lot of energy. Albeit, his having powers put him in the situation that made him tired in the first place. 

It wasn’t a problem, though. It was life. Well- it wasn’t life life. Life life was how normal people lived...life. And Genji Shimada didn’t live life how normal people lived life living. How Hanzo lived life, for example. Unlike Genji, Hanzo didn’t go out every night clad in green armor beating up bad guys and having the news adore him. 

And as Genji flipped through the channels, he was met with such praise.

“The Sentai has done it again. Reports of a crime at a local convenience store were swiftly met in an anticlimactic way once the NUPD arrived at the scene. The criminals were already subdued and incapacitated, and the cops were left to see Sentai briskly leaving the scene”, the reporter announced.

“I am not sure what I expected when we moved here, but it certainly wasn’t superheroes”, Hanzo commented, walking into the living room with two bowls of ramen for him and Genji. 

Genji’s older brother, Hanzo, looked similar to Genji. He had a strong, broad torso, and large hands as well, but his legs weren’t so pronounced as his arms. He had long, silky black hair, and a bit of a pointier chin than Genji did. 

“Cool, though, right? The city’s own little personal protector”, Genji responded, sitting up to make room for Hanzo.

“I suppose. Whoever they are, they’re certainly reckless”, Hanzo huffed.

Genji curled his lip, holding back a defensive retort. He took the bowl from Hanzo, shuffling in his seat before gazing back at the news, letting his feet rest over the coffee table (which Hanzo often protested against, but Genji ignored).

“For two years the masked hero has cleansed the streets of New Unity of crime, but always has kept his identity a secret-

Genji let himself show a little grin as felt a flutter of pride at this statement. 

“and many people have wondered who- or what- might be under the mask. Some contemplate he’s a figurehead, simply working for the government. Others believe he might be a machine, built by real behind-the-scenes heroes”.

Genji regarded the latter theory as partially true- it wasn’t like he developed his armor himself. But it was interesting to see what people thought of his alter-ego, even if the guesses were completely wrong. He was just a boy with superpowers in a costume dealing some justice. As basic as it was, that was how he rolled. 

“In any case, we know that Sentai will always be-”, the news reporter started, but was cut off by Hanzo turning off the television. 

“Hey!”, Genji protested, voice cracking as he sat up, giving Hanzo a frustrated glare. 

“No more of that. Hurry up and eat so you can get ready for school”. 

“I don’t want toooo”, Genji protested childishly, shoving his face into the couch cushion, to which he was sure earned a satisfyingly annoyed look from Hanzo. 

Hanzo grabbed Genji’s leg, sending him tumbling off the couch. Genji huffed as he hit the floor, and immediately shot up, getting back on his feet and running into his room, slamming the door behind him. He could hear a muffled yell from his brother, but he didn’t pay attention to him.

A quick moment later, Genji came back out, dressed in skinny jeans and a green Ben-Day Dot t-shirt, and slipping on his mother’s locket. He leaped back onto the couch, snagging the ramen bowl once he’d landed and began wolfing it down. 

“Genji, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick”, Hanzo sighed.

“Fell you ‘ave to shtop making ramen so goooood”, Genji responded dramatically and loudly, which made Hanzo spare any further comments. 

Genji shifted in his seat to turn the television back on, hearing the little ‘clink’ of car keys as Hanzo picked them up off the counter. Unfortunately, the news session had changed from the Sentai segment, but it was entertaining enough for Genji to keep his attention preoccupied until Hanzo decided to bug him again. 

The aforementioned ‘Hanzo bugging him again’ came all too soon when he grabbed the cuff of Genji’s shirt and dragged him off the couch. “Genji, get your stuff”, he said, tone impatient, and he turned to make his way out of the apartment. 

Genji followed not too long after, slinging his book bag over his shoulder, the little charms on it clacking together as he bounded out of the door, then hurried down the stairs of the apartment complex until he burst outside, zooming past Hanzo who was waiting for him by the parking lot and practically leaping into the car. 

He grinned cheekily from the passenger’s seat, watching Hanzo walk calmly to the car, and getting into the driver’s seat. “Soon enough, you’re going to have to get a driver’s license. You’re sixteen- you’re of age here”.

“I knowww, but you do such a good job, Anija”.

Hanzo rolled his eyes, pulling out of the complex, and eventually they were driving through the busy city streets and arrived at the large building that was New Unity High. 

New Unity- the city- was a haven for many. It was kind of its own republic, off on its own little spot of land. It had amazing technological advancements, an education similar to that of the America’s (which Genji left to assume was not the best, unfortunately), but it was different in small ways and had its upsides, and an ever-decreasing crime rate thanks to Sentai. Research and forging the way for new ideas and technology seemed to be the head of the city, and it showed around every corner. 

Genji thought the city was beautiful. It was what he’d known for most of his life, despite spending a portion of his childhood in Japan. Maybe one day he’d go back, but for now, New Unity was his home. 

New Unity High, however, was a different story. 

He appreciated it enough. He didn’t think sourly of it, but it was mostly the people there that made it for him. Genji was quite the sociable character, and unfortunately, ditching classes to simply talk to friends and occasionally invading another class simply to hang out didn’t go well against his attendance record. Also, Genji was particularly known for his sharp tongue amongst the teachers.

His third block was genetics, taught by the infamous Dr. Moira O’deorain. It wasn’t just Genji who disliked her, it was almost all students. She was smug, a fast talker, didn’t stop for any students and almost seemed to take pleasure in punishing those who spoke out of turn for it. One student known for consistently clapping back at her was Genji. Formerly spoiled, sassy, independent Genji. 

Dr. O’deorain had already sent one student to detention within the first ten minutes of class, and she’d made it a point to not have any more trouble for the rest of the block. Genji didn’t really pay attention to those warnings- it’s not like he wanted to when it came to Moira anyway. 

“Now, given we all behave ourselves, I’d love to continue”, she said in a honeyed voice, which made Genji wince. “Today we’ll be reviewing how muscles contract to…”.

Genji slowly closed his eyes, her voice melding into basic “wah wah wah”s of mindless chatter, as he laid his face down on his desk, weaving his finger through his green hair. It must’ve been a few minutes before a sharp slam of a hand on his desk sent him sitting up rapidly. 

“Mr. Shimada. Are you still with us?”, Moira said, raising a pointed eyebrow down at the teen with just the worst smirk on her face. 

“Oh. Sorry. I don’t really listen to walking audiobooks that came straight from the bookshelves of a dusty science fair”, Genji sighed, already accepting what was coming based off of the awed silence of the students around him, all obviously suppressing laughter. 

Moira’s smirk fell off her face, which was certainly satisfying enough, but then she pointed a long, bony finger to the door. “If you don’t want to cooperate in our little endeavor of learning here, you can go ahead and strut down to detention”.

“Fine”, Genji simply said, slinging his bookbag over his shoulder and walking out of the room, making sure to look ahead and tugging at the rim of his pants for good measure. 

It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it or anything. He was familiar with the detention room. It was always lonely and quiet, but it gave him time to think about his other life. 

To his surprise, however, he wasn’t alone this time.

The moment he spotted who was in the detention room with him, he immediately felt his hands get clammy and ears grow hot. A few desks down, drumming a pair of pencils on the desk, was Lúcio Correia dos Santos. 

Genji didn’t know why someone so awesome, handsome, wonderful- NICE. Nice. Was in detention- must’ve been Moira, since Genji knew Lúcio was in the same block as him, and Moira had already sent someone to detention before Genji, but Genji wasn’t really paying attention then. 

“Sit down, Shimada”, the teacher in charge of the detention that block mumbled, nose stuck in a book, and Genji slowly walked over. The room seemed to stretch out before him, every step thundering in his head the closer and closer he got to Lúcio. He nervously tugged at the collar of his shirt, then at his locket, sweat running down the back of his neck. 

Lúcio looked up with his wide, captivating brown eyes. “Oh, hey, man! Genji, right? I’ve seen you around”.

“Uh- yeah”, Genji said, frantically thinking to himself to keep his cool. “And you’re Lúcio- er- right?”.

Lúcio laughed, and Genji resisted melting at his smile. “Yeah”. 

“Nice! That I- got it right- that’s cool”. 

‘Shut up shut up oh you idiot shut up’, he screamed at himself, putting on as best of a casual smile as he could. 

“What’re you doing in here? Bet it’s Dr. O’deorain. Bit of a crazy lady, isn’t she?”, Lúcio questioned, leaning back in his seat. 

Genji sat his bag down, and took a seat in the desk next to Lúcio’s. “Mhm. I mean, I get sent in here all the time- especially from her. Well- mostly from her. Well maybe not mostly- but I-never mind”. 

Lúcio smirked. “You have lunch next block right? I’ve seen you in the cafeteria”.

“Yeah, I do”, Genji said, leaning forwards, crossing his arms over the desk. 

“Sweet! Maybe we could sit together”.

Genji was going to die.

“Yeah!! Totally”, Genji said, wringing his hands together. “Oh- What are you in here for?”.

“Dr. O’deorain didn’t like my pencil tapping. Said it was disruptive. I can barely listen to her talking, though! When I do actually listen I get really creeped out”.

Genji laughed, his crooked smile forming brightly. “No kidding. My brother’s gonna be pissed at me for getting detention again, but Dr. O’deorain is kind of like an unavoidable thing”. 

Lúcio smiled, nodded, then went back to tapping the pencils on the desk rhythmically, and Genji pulled out his phone, knowing it wasn’t allowed in detention, but the teachers have never really stopped him anyway. He pulled up his texts to Angela.

Angela was an old friend of his- he’d known her pretty much ever since he moved to the city. She was kind, compassionate and extremely intelligent. Her intellect sometimes made up for Genji’s own shortcomings in the prospect, but Genji believed that was what made them such good friends. That, and they both had a great appreciation for chocolate. 

‘Hey’, he texted simply which was swiftly met with a response. 

‘Detention again?’, she replied.

‘Aw, Angie, you know me so well ;)’.

‘What did you do this time?’

‘Gave Dr. O’deorain some just desserts’.

‘It’s just deserts’.

‘Ight. Anyway I met a boy in detention. Well I knew him but I never talked with him’.

‘Oh?? Who?’.

‘Lúcio. You know him, right?’.

Before Genji could read Angela’s reply, he heard the teacher clear his throat from the front of the room. “Phone up”, he grunted, his accent thickly North American. 

Genji rolled his eyes and put his phone in his pocket, taking his chance to converse with Lúcio a bit more. 

“So”, he started after clearing his throat, “what kind of stuff do you do out of school?”.

Lúcio gazed up at the ceiling, crossing his arms behind his head. “Not too much. I mostly write music in my free time. But sometimes I like to skate through parks and stuff”. 

“Oh, you write music?”, Genji inquired, leaning forwards in interest. 

“Yeah! Not like wordy songs or anything. I really like dubstep”.

“Oh, I like dubstep too! I’ve tried putting it on my speakers at home but my brother just yells at me”, Genji said with a small chortle. 

“He’s just gotta accept the tunes”, Lúcio said in a smooth tone, looking more relaxed than Genji could ever fathom himself being. 

“Yeah”, Genji responded, looking down in contemplation. He gulped. “Uh- hey! If you’re not doing anything after school maybe you could come over? And use my speakers or something”. 

Lúcio smiled at him, which Genji took as a good sign. “Sure! Sounds fun. I can meet you outside once classes are over?”.

‘What are you doing? You have responsibilities’, Genji thought, his inner voice taking on a tone that was way too similar to Hanzo’s. Genji brushed the thought to the side. He’d be fine. Torbjörn wouldn’t care if he was just a little late. 

“Yeah! I’ll be sure to see you there”, Genji replied, making sure his posture seemed as relaxed as Lúcio’s. Like he wasn’t totally freaking out at a cute boy coming over to his house later. 

He contemplated inviting Angela, but a little voice deep down told him he wanted to have his time alone with Lúcio, and so he listened to it, deciding against texting Angela an offer, but rather just looking to see her response to his former question. 

‘Lúcio? Oh, I know him. I’ve talked to him a few times- he’s really nice’.

‘Yeah, he is. He’s coming over to my house later’, Genji texted back, feeling as if he was boasting a bit. 

‘Really? Wow, you two are moving fast’.

‘Ha ha. Ha’. 

‘Alright, alright. Just tell me how it goes’. 

‘Will do. ;))))) ;))). ;))))’. 

‘Please quit spamming me with those’. 

——

The rest of the day seemed to pass by in a blur. Genji was too preoccupied with...well, fawning over his earlier interactions with Lúcio to pay attention to anything. Any more than he usually did, anyway.

By the time school was over, Genji’s heart seemed to want to leap out of his chest. He waited by the stairs leading down to the front lawn from the foyer, letting the bustle of students pass him by. 

Genji felt a nudge on his shoulder, and turned around, heart fluttering in anticipation, but was surprised to see Brigitte instead of Lúcio. 

“Hey, Genji!”, she greeted. “You're coming by to see Papa later today, right?”.

“Yeah- although- uh- can you tell him I’ll be a little later than usual? I’ve invited Lúcio to come over to my house”.

Brigitte frowned, her expression changing to a more perplexed one. “But Papa says he has some good upgrades for your- uh- your phone!! Your phone”. 

“Well my phone is just going to have to wait”, Genji replied, tapping his finger against the strap of his bookbag impatiently. 

Genji glanced over Brigitte’s shoulders, seeing the familiar shape of Lúcio emerge from the doorway amongst a little crowd of students. “Sorry, Brigitte. I have to go”, he said, pushing past her and into the crowd, ignoring her short-lived protest. 

“Hey, man! Do we got a ride to your house?”, Lúcio said, waving to Genji as he approached. 

“Yeah. My brother should be here any minute”, Genji said, looking back at the line of cars in the street. 

Almost as if on cue, Genji could see Hanzo’s car pull up into the lot, and Genji motioned for Lúcio to follow him. Genji waved to Hanzo as the approached the car, and he could clearly see Hanzo’s look of suspicious confusion. 

“Who is this?”, Hanzo asked as Genji opened the passenger door. 

“This is Lúcio- a friend of mine. Is it okay if he comes over for a few hours?”.

“Do you have homework?”, Hanzo asked, raising a brow at Genji. 

“No. Please, Anija? Please? Pleaaasseeee?”, Genji pleaded, pouting his lip. 

Hanzo huffed, rolling his eyes. “Fine”, he mumbled. “But if you have work to do, don’t neglect it”. 

‘You have no idea’, Genji thought as he turned to open the back seat door for Lúcio. 

Once they got back to their apartment, Genji rushed inside to lead Lúcio to his room. A tiny bit of anxiety gnawed at him, the energetic itch to go out and finally be Sentai strong, but the will to hang out with Lúcio was a little stronger. 

“Nice place!”, Lúcio commented, walking into Genji’s room. Posters covered one wall, holding the images of comic and manga characters, and there was a shelf on another for books and comics, as well as a few figurines. An upper shelf held a wakazashi blade- a gift from his father when he was younger. 

The walls were pale, and he had a television on the wall perpendicular to his bed, with some games and a couple of gaming consoles sitting on the shelves below it. Sitting next to the TV was the little speaker Genji had assured Lúcio he owned. 

Genji’s bed was large, the covers of it a striped pattern of white, light gray and green. The nightstand next to it held a reading light, as well as a few comics in the process of being read, and next to the nightlight, a photo of him, Hanzo, and their father. 

“Thanks!”, Genji said, taking the speaker from its spot and jumping onto his bed. Lúcio walked over to sit next to him. “Play me some of your music”. 

Lúcio hooked his phone up to Genji’s speaker, and the two simply sat on the bed, listening. Genji thought the music was great- a lot of it was very calming. It was hard for him to fully take it in, though. What he WAS taking in was Lúcio simply sitting next to him, enjoying his company. Genji was utterly thrilled to have made quick friends with the one guy Genji just really wanted to be friends with. 

He only found himself getting this excited about something with his job as Sentai. 

As if signaled by Genji thinking about it, Genji’s phone started to ring, and he looked over to see Torbjörn’s name on the screen. Genji breathed in sharply through his teeth. Great. He was in trouble. 

“What’s up?”, Lúcio asked, looking over. 

“Oh- it’s just my- uh- a tutor”, Genji responded, glancing to the side. 

“Oh, damn- did I make you miss a lesson or something?”, Lúcio questioned worriedly. 

“No! No, no- You’re fine”, Genji said quickly, raising his hands. “I already told him that I’d be late today- it’s fine, really”. 

Lúcio gaved Genji a concerned look, but didn’t press to Genji’s relief. Then, Genji heard the creak of his door, and looked over to see Hanzo sticking his head in. 

“Genji. I’m going to work. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?”.

“You remind me every day”, Genji groaned, wishing Hanzo hadn’t said that in front of Lúcio. Hanzo waved goodbye, and Genji let himself breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the front door shut. 

Genji and Lúcio listened to the music in a cherished quiet for a little while longer, before Lúcio got a buzz on his phone, looking down. “Oh- it’s my mom. Dinner’s about to be ready. Hey, this was fun. We should do it again soon?”.

“Of course! Yeah- your music is really good”, Genji responded with a soft chuckle, fighting his cheeks growing hot. 

Lúcio grinned at this, and Genji walked him out of the complex, and watched Lúcio head down the street until he disappeared from view around the corner. Genji felt a small pang of disappointment as Lúcio left, but then he felt his adrenaline already pick up. It was time for the real work of the day. 

Turning back and running back into his apartment, Genji found the opportunity to use his powers, dashing, and grabbed his phone and keys, swiftly making his way back out, locking the apartment door behind him. He ran to the streets, taking a familiar path all the way to a little building in a shopping district with the sign over its doors reading ‘Ironclad’. 

He stepped inside, hearing the chime of the bell that was on the door. It was a workshop. By public, people came there to repair anything- from a toaster to more advanced technologies. Genji came for a different reason, though. 

The shop had all sorts of metals around it- the counter was a rustic bronze. Shelves lining all the walls held all sorts of parts, and there was a big board on the left wall with names and appointments listed down it. The floor was metal as well, brandishing a print of a gear. Behind the counter there was a staircase, leading up to the apartment where Torbjörn, Brigitte and their family lived.

“Genji!”, a tempered voice called, the tone laden with an impatience. “You tell my daughter you’ll be late, leave her to tell me- when I call you, you don’t answer and you’re an hour and a half late!”.

“Sorry, Torb! I had important business”, Genji responded casually, smirking down at the little man who trudged up to him. 

Torbjörn was impatient, grumpy, and was very loud about things that made him unhappy or dissatisfied. However, Genji had to admit he was a brilliant engineer. “Feh! Your “important business” of flirting with another boy took away my time. I have an-“.

“An upgrade? For my armor”, Genji asked. “Brigitte told me”. 

“Armor”, Torbjörn scoffed. “You had me build a costume. But, the most useful costume there is. Come on”. 

Genji followed Torbjörn by his request, and Torbjörn led him behind the counter. He opened the door to the back, where supplies were pretty much everywhere, save one spot on the wall where a little keypad sat. Torbjörn walked over and punched in a code, and a door in the wall split open. 

Genji smiled and went in first, heading down the stairs. Under the shop, there was a huge crafting and testing area. It was slicker and sharper than the building above, more whites and oranges. On one corner there was a workshop, holding tech and parts and tools that seemed to be more advanced than the ones topside. On the other part of the room, targets and mats and little mini obstacle courses decorated the area, and surrounding the room on the upper walls was a balcony so Torbjörn and Brigitte could look down on the area. 

And sitting in its own cylinder in the workshop section, was Genji’s Sentai suit. It was a bright green, with a full helmet and a long, white flowing scarf that was a bit tattered at the end. It had white gloves and boots, and the occasional little blue light. Sitting next to it, held up by bars was his two swords- a wakazashi, not dissimilar to that of his father’s gift, and a long katana, both sporting the bright colors of his suit. 

“It looks a little lighter than before? Not so heavy”, Genji observed, tilting his head at it. 

“Yes- I made it a little more streamlined to cooperate with your dashing power. But that’s not the upgrade I wanted to tell you about”, Torbjörn replied as Genji turned to see Brigitte head down the entrance stairs. 

“What is it then?”, Genji asked, looking back at the suit as Brigitte came over to carefully take it out of its casing. 

“Put it on and you can find out”, Torbjörn replied dismissively, and Genji smirked, grabbing the suit from Brigitte and headed into the changing station in the back of the workshop. 

He came back out a few moments later, armor all on, save for his helmet. He let the helmet rest at its side, using his other hand to place on his hip. “So? What is it?”.

Genji loved the feeling of being in the suit. He felt strong- well, he already had a superhuman strength, but this made him feel as if he was safe to express it, and use it. 

“Put your helmet on, boy”, Torbjörn said, pointing at Genji, then to the training area. Genji slipped on the helmet, all the information on his visor coming to life in little blue tidbits of text and numbers and whatnot, even outlining Torbjörn and Brigitte in a blue hue. 

“Okayyyy...now what?”, Genji asked, his voice through the helmet now having a sort of mechanical filter to it in order to not be muffled. 

Brigitte piped up this time, excitedly walking over to hold Genji’s arm. “Flick your wrist upwards really quickly”, she instructed, gazing down at his hand. 

Genji complied, flicking his wrist, and to his surprise, a clicking sound came from the glove, and a trio of shurikens slid into his fingers. “Wh- oh- sweet!!”, he exclaimed, wiggling his fingers to move the shurikens a bit. 

“Didn’t want you having to constantly fight close range with those swords, so I added that for you to attack at a longer range”, Torbjörn said proudly, walking over. 

Genji grinned under the mask, and swiftly turned, launching the three shurikens in a straight line, each going ‘thunk, thunk, thunk’ against a target. He smiled down at his gloved hand, already feeling the pull to go out and put it into action. 

“Thanks, Torb”, he said, and Torbjörn made a sound that probably meant something along the lines of “about time for a thank you” or something or other. “And thank you too, Brigitte”.

She smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. At least SHE was nice about taking a compliment. If anything, though, Genji just liked to give Torbjörn a hard time. He was far too grateful for all Torb had done for him to give the engineer any real trouble. 

Besides, there was no way Genji could ever come up with the stuff Torbjörn did for his suit, even if Torbjörn saw it as a little more tacky than he’d prefer. 

With some hurried goodbyes and quick chatter, Genji made his way out of the backside of the building, clambering onto the rooftops, the clicking of his armor accompanying his movements. He could see why some people theorized Sentai to be a machine, but it also gave Genji a little bit of pride to think that people saw him as that efficient. 

There was a little ‘fzzz’ sound, signaling his comms coming on. “Genji? Can you hear me?”, Brigitte’s voice sounded. 

“Loud and clear”, he responded, looking over the city, admiring the lights and the skyscrapers, and taking in all the sounds. 

“Alright. I’ve got reports of a robbery down 46th and 10th. I’ve got a few sources saying it’s Deadlock- so be careful”. 

“No problem. I’ll take care of those western goons in no time”, Genji said confidently, puffing out his chest as he stretched his legs, ready to put his skills to use. “Wish me luck! Not that I’ll need it”. 

And with that, Genji hunched over a bit, putting one foot back. He then launched himself forwards, being trailed by a green glow, then over to the next rooftop. Genji’s agility wasn’t the suit- it was the reason he adopted the suit- the superhero title- the job, everything. Once he figured out he had superpowers, he knew he needed to use them. 

He was a ninja- a warrior of the highest esteem- being a celebrity just happened to be a side effect of being the city’s badass protector. Experiencing the weightlessness of leaping from roof to roof, climbing on the side of walls and flipping off of obstacles, the pump of adrenaline and energy fed to him by his powers, and the simple sensation of falling, he always knew it was the right decision. 

New Unity was Genji’s home. He didn’t have enough memories of Hanamura to think of it too fondly. He knew Hanzo did, and Genji also knew that Hanzo thought of it- their past- every day. Genji loved looking forwards, though- to a brighter future for his home. 

The city of New Unity had a protector- and it wasn’t Genji Shimada. It was Sentai.


	2. Matchmaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a mission, Genji finds himself playing a hand in the romance department.

Sentai bounded from roof to roof, surveying the city streets below, his white scarf billowing behind him. He found himself by a skyscraper that was just bigger than the rest, so he leaped onto its wall, his gloved hands latching to the side, and he swiftly began to scale it. 

Once he reached the top, he let himself catch his breath as the warm light of the setting sun spilled over him, his shadow a long shape behind him. He walked to the side of the roof, squatting and gazing off the edge, down at the bustling streets. 

“I see them”, he said, looking down at a gang of masked bandits all huddled within a little shop- a diner of all places- a simple, odd place to rob. If that’s what they were doing. 

“Be careful. Sources say there’s at least fifteen in there- you’d have to fight off a lot of people”, Brigitte responded, her voice clear from the comm in his helmet. 

“Fifteen people? No problem. Deadlock tends to not be the brightest bunch, anyway”, Sentai replied, with a bit of a cocky chuckle. 

“Don’t get too sure of yourself”, Brigitte warned, and Sentai could hear the comm click off. 

He rolled his eyes under the mask, and braced himself, proceeding to leap off the building, free falling until he grasped a flagpole about a story up from the diner, using it to slow his fall, then landing near silently on the ground. He slowly pulled his wakazashi from its holster, sneaking forwards to peer into the diner window. 

All the bandits wore some kind of hood or bandana- all of their clothing a very southwestern statement, and he could hear their muffled voices held southern drawls. The man they were threatening at the counter was tall, had brought shoulders, just a little bit pudgy, but there was a lot of muscle there- and he seemed to be younger- about close to Hanzo’s age. He had tan skin and rich, brown hair, and he wore a hat similar to a few of what the Deadlock Gang wore. He looked all too confident while being held at gunpoint- as if he were familiar with the robbing fellows. 

Sentai could only hope his confidence was backed up, in case anything went wrong. He looked up at the top of the diner, and leapt to the roof, pleased to find a doorway to the attic there. He walked over and, with a good amount of force, broke the door down, catching it before it hit the ground too heavily. 

He quietly made his way down the staircase, carefully across the attic, then slowly opened the hatch by just an inch. The attic door resided above the behind of the counter, and Sentai could look straight down and see the top of the confident man’s head. If he looked ahead, he could see a good number of the Deadlock Gang, all brandishing some sort of gun. 

“You’ve kept away from us fer too long, Jesse”, the one at the front of the crowd said, his face hidden by a yellow bandana, save for his eyes. “Ashe wants you to pay”.

“I’m afraid I’ve already made a mighty good life here. It’d be a shame for y’all to ruin it”, the confident man- Jesse- said, sighing. 

Sentai almost felt the need to make an intrigued “hm”, at his comment, but kept quiet as the head of the crowd stepped forwards. “This is yer last chance, Jesse”, he growled. “Come with us, or you die on the spot”.

So, get the bandits, protect the diner guy. Easy. 

Sentai dashed out from the attic, using the diner bar to vault off of, flipping in the air and landing before the bandits, wakazashi out in front of him, a wide smirk on his face behind the mask. “You heard him, he doesn’t want you here”, Sentai said firmly.

“Hey- this is Deadlock business- get out of here”, a grunt said, his voice edged with a satisfying nervousness, and Sentai noticed Jesse smartly retreating into the back room. 

“Well, unfortunately, as a superhero, any criminal business is my business”, Sentai said, tilting the blade just a bit so it glinted from the orange light spilling through the window, bathing all of them in its hue. “So, we can either fight and get this done quick, or you can surrender and get this done quicker”. 

In response, the Deadlock Gang pointed muzzles at him, all clicking. Sentai hunched over a bit, readying himself, and holding his sword in a strong, straight line, the energy of his powers feeling like sparks running through his arms. 

With a loud noise, Sentai saw a bright flash from the leading muzzle, and swept his sword, arm moving at a speed to which it enveloped in a green light due to his powers, and the bullet went into the wall. The assailant inhaled sharply, obviously taken off guard, and before the rest could fire, Sentai dashed forwards, a green blur.

He took one and put his arm around his neck, lifting him and sending him tumbling into another grunt. As a couple turned to lunge at Sentai, he flipped over them and kicked one's head into the other. He reached back to grab an arm, and flung him into the side of the wall, all in an articulate, swift and graceful dance. He almost went forwards, but a strong arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him back. 

Sentai grunted, looking around for an escape. He glanced up at the ceiling, and flicked his wrist, shurikens sliding out of his gloves. He then threw them upwards, hitting a weak tile on the ceiling, and it fell, cracking over the goon’s head, loosening his grip and letting Sentai turn and let a sweeping kick knock him into the ground.

Sentai then knocked the hull of his sword into the stomach of one, grabbing him by the cuff of his shirt and throwing him into a group. He leapt towards a wall, vaulting off it to tackle a couple to the ground, pinning them with his hands.

Panting, he looked back up to Jesse, who had emerged from the room, signaled by the ceasing of fighting noises. “You okay?”.

Jesse nodded, tilting his hat up and whistling, impressed, visibly just a little shaken, but a lot less than Sentai expected the usual civilian to be. Sentai also expected a little more awe from him, but he supposed just impressed would do. “Sorry about the tile”, Sentai said. 

It wasn’t long before the police arrived, all in white and yellow suits, taking the goons into custody, filing each of the bandits into a van. Sentai was thanked by one of them, per usual, and Sentai responded in a formal acknowledgment, itching to have his curious questions answered by the owner of the diner. 

Sentai hung around once the police left, stretching out his arms and turning back towards the bar to speak with Jesse. 

“Thanks fer helping me out. Those guys haven’t left me alone for the longest time”, Jesse huffed, looking down. 

“Yeah, I’m a professional”, Sentai said casually, trying to let himself calm down from the fight. 

“Thanks”, Jesse breathed, seeming to take a breather at the same time Sentai did. 

“So why are they attacking you? Who’s Ashe?”, Sentai questioned, walking over to the counter. 

“Ashe is..an old buddy of mine. I used to be with ‘em, but I left a while ago. I got my records clear, don’t worry”, Jesse informed, leaning over onto the counter, scratching the scruff on his chin. “She’s the leader of the Deadlock Gang- she’s got it out for me ever since I ditched ‘em. I’ve been able to handle ‘em just fine, but looks like Ashe got tired of waiting”. 

“Would you know where she is?”, Sentai asked, putting his wakazashi back into its scabbard. 

“Naw. She moved ever since I got cleared, ‘fraid I’d spill information on where the base was I assume”. 

“That makes sense...thank you, though. Your name is Jesse, right?”, Sentai asked, crossing his arms. 

“Yep. I’m just gonna go with Sentai for you?”, he responded with a small laugh. 

“That would probably be best”, Sentai responded, adding clear amusement in his tone since Jesse couldn’t see his face. “Thank you, Jesse. If I have any more questions, would you mind if I come by sometimes to ask them?”.

“Not a problem”, Jesse confirmed, tipping his hat politely at the superhero. “I wish ya luck”. 

“You too. If they give you trouble again, just ping me”, Sentai said, putting a device on the bar that was for contacting him through his comms. “I’m not always available, though, so don’t...you know, rely on me”. 

“Don’t worry- I’ve handled 'em before, I can handle ‘em now”, he replied simply. 

Sentai nodded, smiling under the mask, and went out the front door. He stretched out, then leapt onto the roof, scaling the nearby walls of buildings, nightfall now having fallen. That meant he’d have to get home before Hanzo did. 

He leapt from roof to roof until he made his way back into the workshop, and in through the back, being greeted by Brigitte. 

“Genji! I’m assuming it went well?”, she greeted brightly as Genji took off the helmet, brushing out his green hair.

“Yes- very smoothly. I even got someone willing to give me information on the Deadlock Gang”, Genji replied, resting his helmet by his side, using his other hand to grab his scarf and wipe sweat off his brow.

“Really? Who?”, Brigitte asked, leaning in with curiosity as she took the helmet from him and started leading them down to what Genji liked to call the Sentai Bunker. 

“His name is Jesse. He was a part of the Deadlock Gang, but he left them”, Genji informed, pulling off the top armor piece to just have his torso be in under armor, relieved to be able to cool down. 

“He was? Huh- and he agreed to give you information?”, Brigitte said to confirm, and Genji nodded. “Maybe you should keep tabs on him- like in real life. Not sure how you’d do that, though”.

While Genji did want to trust Jesse, Brigitte had a point. He looked up in contemplation. “Well, since he owns a diner, I could go there frequently. I’d have to find an excuse, though…”.

“Take the night to think about it”, Brigitte said, giving him an encouraging smile. “You better get home- we don’t want your brother seeing you gone”.

Genji smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs up, turning away to change.  
“Wait! Genji- tomorrow, before school, do you mind if I talk to you about something?”, she called after him, pulling her hand close to herself in an almost nervous fashion. 

“Uh- sure!”, Genji said, a little confused, but went right back to hurrying home. 

By the time he did get back to his apartment, he was relieved to see Hanzo wasn’t there yet. He always had good excuses up his sleeve, but Genji was always glad to not have to use any of them and collapse onto the couch, waiting for his big brother. When Genji heard the door click, Genji lifted his head to peer over the couch. 

Hanzo walked in, looking a bit tired and disheveled, but that wasn’t anything new. Genji smiled, vaulting over the couch to pull his brother into a greeting hug. “Welcome back, Anija. Rough day?”.

“It was the same as ever”, Hanzo sighed, returning the hug, then pulling away to brush hair out of his eyes. “Luckily I have the day off tomorrow”. 

“Gee. And I’ll be at school. You’ll be so lonely”, Genji said jokingly, but then a little ring of an idea chimed in his head. ‘Lonely…’. 

“We’ll be able to hang out after”, Hanzo reassured, ruffling Genji’s hair as he walked by to set his keys down on the counter. 

“Yeah! Maybe we can go out and eat somewhere! I spotted this cool looking place a few days ago”, Genji offered, following Hanzo towards the couch, and both sat down, side-by-side. 

“Sure”, Hanzo said, giving a long moment for silence as he sunk into the couch, obviously exhausted. 

“Great!”, Genji said, standing, then grabbing Hanzo’s sleeve. “Come on, Anija. You’re exhausted. Go to bed”. 

Hanzo groaned, standing up as Genji tugged on his sleeve. “Fine, fine. Have you already eaten dinner?”.

“Yep”, Genji lied. “I’m fine. I can bring you some food if you need it”.

“You worry me, Genji. You’re being sweet”, Hanzo said, raising an eyebrow at him, then turned back to face his bedroom. “But no. I’ll just sleep”. 

“Okayyyy. See you in the morning, Hanzo”, Genji said, putting on a smile, retreating into his own room once Hanzo had entered his, and then smirked as the door shut behind him. 

“Can’t wait for tomorrowwww…”.  
\----

Saying goodbye to his brother, Genji stepped out of the car and strolled up the pavement leading to the school, hands in his pockets. He scanned the crowd, and smiled when his sharp eye caught Brigitte’s strong figure and red hair. Bounding up the steps, he approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Genji- great- come here”, she said quickly, grasping his hand and pulling him towards a lone tree in the lot, and looked around to make sure no one was within listening proximity. “I need your help”.

“My help? What for?”, Genji questioned cocking his eyebrow at her. 

“Well...you- well I...okay, listen. There’s this...girl”, Brigitte stammered, wringing her hands together.

“Ohhh. A girllll”, Genji said with cheeky intrigue, smirking at her. 

“Yeah- and- I know her kind of. Her mom is friends with Pappa and Reinhardt. So I’ve talked to her before, but not...talked-talked to her, you know? And you’re better with new people than I am and you’re..good at keeping secrets, so, can you help me?”. 

“I’m sure I can fit it in between school and saving the city”, he said with a wink, then laughed. “Don’t worry, Brigitte. I’ve got you. What’s her name?”.

“Fareeha Amari. She’s in my track class. I’m...gonna try and get her number, but maybe you can go with us somewhere this weekend? So it’s not like an immediate creepy date thing”. 

“No problem”, Genji responded. “Maybe it can be a...quote-unquote double date? Basically a big hangout. There’s this boy I’ve just made friends with- I think it would be fun”. 

“Yeah, I guess! The more the merrier”, Brigitte said, and gave him a grateful little punch on the arm before they bid each other farewell and headed off to their respective classes. 

It wasn’t long before Genji was in detention. Again. 

He sat alone in the detention room, chewing a piece of mint gum he got from Hana Song in an earlier class, feet propped up on the desk. He tapped his foot on air, scrolling through his phone before the door opened.

Genji expected to see another student- maybe Lúcio- but what he did end up seeing was the exact opposite of what he wanted. 

“Mr. Shimada”, Dr. O’deorain said in her voice that Genji was sure was some sort of byproduct of slicking oil down her throat or something. “May I have a word with you?”.

Genji didn’t respond verbally- he just involuntarily curled his nose and followed her outside the classroom into the hallway. He didn’t see why it was necessary, considering there was only another teacher in the room, but he didn’t really care enough to dwell on it. 

“Mr. Shimada, in the past two months that school has been going on, you’ve managed to get a staggering thirty nine trips to detention. Nothing you done has been worth further punishment, apparently, but as your teacher, I AM obligated to warn you that any more referrals, and I’ll be having to speak with a parent. It should have happened sooner, but my colleagues have been trying to hold back since the school year started recently,

“However, any further misbehavior cannot be tolerated. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Shimada?”.

“Crystal”, Genji replied halfheartedly, looking to the side. 

“Does your mother tolerate this kind of behavior at home, Mr. Shimada? Your father?”.

Genji felt a very sharp prick of irritation. “I don’t have either of those. It’s just me and my brother”, he mumbled, not making eye contact with her. 

“Ah. Apologies”, Moira said, and Genji had to take a wild guess that she wasn’t really sorry. “In any case, I hope you take my words into consideration. Good day, Mr. Shimada”.

And with that, she turned down the hall, back to her classroom. Genji grumbled, taking his opportunity to make his escape from detention. 

“‘Good day, Mr. Shimada’”, Genji mocked, making his voice nasally, curling his hands to look like claws and feigning a hacking cough. He scoffed. “She doesn’t tell me what to do”. 

As Genji rounded the corner, not paying attention, he found himself crashing into a figure, sending journals and pencils the stranger was holding clattering to the ground. Genji immediately crouched to help pick them up. 

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry”, the student said. She was short, and a bit plump, with jet black hair tied into a bun and a pair of glasses, along with wearing a jacket that looked a little too warm for the school environment. 

“No- it’s okay, I wasn’t watching where I was going”, Genji responded quickly, standing up as he gathered the remnants of her dropped stuff. 

“No- no I wasn’t-,” she started, but the moment she made eye contact with him her eyes widened, and her face went pale, along with a little gasp. 

“Uhm. Are you okay?”, Genji questioned after a small beat of silence, holding out her stuff for her. 

“Uh-! Uhm-! Yes, sorry, I have to go- late for class- bye!”, she stammered, fumbling to grab her stuff, then hurrying off in a mall walk. 

Genji looked after her, his expression riddled with utter confusion, and a bit of worry. She couldn’t have, right? Recognized him. He always wore a mask, there was no way- well what about his voice? Surely not, he put filters over it to mask it a bit. But what if- no, no, there was no way she recognized him. 

So it was just a weird interaction. Just a weird, socially awkward interaction- nothing to worry about. He bet it was because he was just so good looking she didn’t know how to respond. That’s what he went with, anyway, without a definite answer. 

But maybe he’d have to keep an eye out for her from now on, just in case.

——

Genji was relieved to finally get home, looking forward to putting his plan from the previous night into action, and not have to worry about the worst teachers or a worrying girl. Just a little something to kill two birds with one stone. 

“Are you ready to go?”, Hanzo said, grabbing his keys off of his counter and buttoning up his blue shirt.

“Yeah- are you?”, Genji questioned, bounding towards the door. 

Hanzo opened the door in response, letting Genji go out first and race down the stairs. Once Hanzo got down, he shook his head. 

“I have no idea how you have so much energy, Otōto”, he sighed, opening the door to the driver’s seat. 

‘No, you really don’t’, Genji thought to himself as he slid into the passenger’s seat. “I’ll tell you where to go- I’ve never been there but it looked neat”. 

Hanzo nodded, and Genji directed him down the city streets, all the way to the diner that Jesse owned. As they pulled up, parking the car by the sidewalk, Hanzo peered out the window, his expression becoming perplexed. 

“This is where you want us to go? It looks very...rustic and western”, Hanzo said slowly, turning back to look at his brother. 

“Yeah! We never really go to places like this- I think it’ll be fun”, Genji said, and swiftly got out of the car, preventing any further questioning. 

He led Hanzo inside, and was pleased to see Jesse tending to the bar while a few tables of people ate their food, with a slow country tune playing over the radio of the diner. Fans were spinning slowly, and everything seemed to move at an easy pace, but quaint and homey. 

Genji almost called out to Jesse, but very quickly remembered that Jesse wouldn’t know who he was. 

“Are you sure?”, Hanzo said, leaning in to double check.

“I’m sure I’m sure”, Genji said, grabbing Hanzo’s hand and leading him up to the bar. “Oo, look at him”, Genji whispered, standing on his toes so only Hanzo could hear him. 

“What about him?”, Hanzo said, eyeing Jesse, then looked back down at Genji.

“Isn’t he cute? He seems nice”, Genji responded, nudging Hanzo with his elbow. 

“He seems my age. I think that’s a little too old for you”, Hanzo said, curling his lip a bit.

“No, no- not for me! For you!”, Genji prompted, smiling as innocently as he could up to his brother. 

“For me?”, Hanzo scoffed. “Genji, I’m not interested in-”, he started, but was cut off as Jesse spoke.

“Howdy, you two! ‘Names Jesse. Do y’all have anything in mind of what y’all want today?”.

Genji wanted to laugh- he was so country. Hanzo nearly seemed repulsed, but he hid it very well. 

“No, we’ll take a moment to decide if that’s alright”, Genji said, putting on a sweet smile for the cowman. 

“No problem. Hey- you sound familiar. Have I met you from somewhere?”.

Genji felt a panicked beat, resisting the urge to let it show in his face. “Perhaps? I wouldn’t remember if we did meet”. 

He would have definitely remembered if he’d met a guy like Jesse before his mission as Sentai. He was absolutely dripping with southern everything. 

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you both, then”, Jesse said, tipping his hat at them, and Genji felt a prick of amusement as Hanzo’s eyes widened in shock just a bit, slowly and cautiously sitting down at the bar. 

As Jesse turned away, Genji leaned in towards Hanzo, smirking. “So? What do you think?”.

“I think you’re crazy”, Hanzo laughed in a whisper, shaking his head. 

“Glass o’ water for the two newcomers”, Jesse said, setting the glasses down before them. “Can’t wait to get to know such...lovely folk as yerselves”, he added, obviously directing the statement towards Hanzo with a wink. 

“You are so sure we will be returning..”, Hanzo commented, giving Jesse a suspicious gaze. 

“Well, sure I am! Anybody who gets a taste of my food becomes a regular here”, he said, leaning against the counter. 

“Such confidence”, Hanzo huffed, looking to the side, making it adamant that he was very hard to court. 

‘I hope he can back it up’, Genji thought, drumming his fingers against the bar as he looked up at the menu above them. “What does that say...chicken fried steak?”, he asked, not so sure he had tasted anything like that before. 

“Sure does. One of my specialties”, Jesse responded. “Although, I say that about everythin’”. 

“I’m sure you do”, Hanzo mumbled, then looked at the menu himself. “Well, if I must have something, I will have whatever Genji requests”, he said, looking over to his little brother. 

Genji let out a little “hm!”, then looked back to Jesse. “Then I’ll have..uh..what I just asked about”, he said, already forgetting the name of it. 

“Two chicken fried steaks it is”, Jesse said, turning around, whistling, and making his way into the kitchen. 

“How odd”, Hanzo said, narrowing his eyes at where Jesse had left. 

“He seemed to reallyyy like you”, Genji pointed out, resting his head on his hands, elbows resting against the counter. 

“It certainly seemed that way. I, however, have no interest”.

“Are you sure? Your ears look a little hot”.

“I’m not- no- I do not find him attractive in any way, thank you”, Hanzo said firmly, looking away.

Genji almost had forgotten why he wanted them to get comfortable with the diner in the first place. Gazing around, he looked for anything suspicious he wouldn’t have seen on his first outing there. Nothing stood out to him, but perhaps there would be something later on to arouse suspicion. And if not- great. 

It did take a little bit, but eventually Jesse came out with two plates of identical food. It looked very western, Genji couldn’t deny that, and part of his stomach protested having to frequent there.

He wouldn’t know until he tried it, though. 

Jesse tipped his hat at them again in a polite gesture, then sauntered off to check on the other customers. Genji took a quick bite of it, surprised that it wasn’t that bad as he thought it would be, but it wasn’t necessarily as good as Jesse had hyped it up to be. 

Hanzo, however, seemed to have a different opinion. Genji’s brother always had a bit more of an appreciation for food than Genji, but even he was surprised to observe how much Hanzo seemingly enjoyed the steak. It was far from what his brother ate regularly, and yet Hanzo ate it much faster than Genji did- and when a Shimada enjoyed food, it was wolfed down in no time. That steak definitely disappeared quickly.

After a good few minutes, Jesse returned again. “Damn! I’d never seen my steak gone that quick”, he said, glancing down at Hanzo’s clean plate. 

“Well, you had a right to boast. It does not mean you should have”, Hanzo said, wiping his lips in such a proper fashion, one would think he didn’t just eat basic diner cuisine. 

Jesse gave a warm chuckle, taking the plate away from him. “Glad ya liked it- uh- say, what’s yer name there?”.

“Hanzo”, he said, nodding at the cowman. 

“Hanzo. Then I hope...you’ll be comin’ back sometime?”, Jesse asked, leaning one arm against the bar. 

“I’m sure we will”, Hanzo said, and Genji sat there in shock. It’d gone so smoothly…and yet, maybe he hadn’t thought it through with his brother falling for a cowman- a cowman’s food, he meant. Certainly nothing else. 

It wasn’t long before Hanzo had paid and they left the diner- which Genji observed to be called The Panorama Diner- and drove off. Genji sat there in silence, arms crossed as he was caught in deep contemplation. 

It had been only him and Hanzo for the past year- and before that, only the brothers and their father. Now that Genji had prompted this scenario, what was going to happen? Genji knew a reasonable thought would be nothing- after all, they had just met, but then again, Hanzo certainly seemed warmer and more open to Jesse than Genji had ever seen with someone new. 

He supposed he would just have to tread lightly. 

——

The next day started off as usual. The previous night wasn’t really anything but patrol, and as usual, it wore Genji out, but he was lucky to have powers that restored his energy very quickly. His first few blocks of the day went fine...right until he reached Dr. O’deorain’s class. 

He spotted Lúcio in the corner, headphones in his ears and jamming out to something. Genji found it immensely charming, and couldn’t help but get lost in a fond stare, a light blush on his cheeks. 

Lúcio wasn’t a target for Moira that day, luckily, but Genji wasn’t surprised to find himself at the brunt of the teacher’s habits. He was surprised by it, but the moment he made eye contact with her, her words about Genji’s parents swiftly began echoing in his head, lighting his temper. 

“Mr. Shimada, it seems your mind is somewhere else”, she said, with a walk towards him he could only compare to a snake’s slither. “Might I ask what is so important that you’re ignoring my lesson?”.

“Nothing”, Genji grumbled, furrowing his brow and shooting daggers at her with his eyes. 

“I’d assume so. Would you mind summarizing to me what we’ve just been discussing?”.

Genji’s mind immediately went blank. He gave Moira a dumb stare, which he wished he could wipe off his face, but unfortunately it was a simple reflex of not knowing what the hell to say. 

“I see”, Moira said with a little disappointed click of her tongue. “Well, I propose it is in your best interest to listen, Mr. Shimada, instead of having your head in the clouds”.

Genji wished he’d made a better habit of thinking before he spoke. 

“Good day”, he said in his best mockery of her voice, flaring out his nostrils to get the nasally effect. 

She turned around, her heterochromatic eyes piercing into him. Her long nails rested on his desk, tapping away in a flowing rhythm, and there was silence for a long moment. He felt his cheeks grow hot, knowing Lúcio was probably watching- Genji felt like an idiot. 

“Detention, Mr. Shimada. I know you’re familiar with where to go, and I’m sure you have a clue as to what is going to happen next”, Moira said, grimacing, her oily voice further slicked with an infuriatingly smug tonality. 

“Sure”, Genji mumbled, too defeated to care about any further altercations between them in the moment, grabbed his green bookbag, stood up, and left the classroom, looking tired and somber. 

As he walked down the hall, he reached up to hold his locket in his fist, running his thumb along the carved indents, finding himself tearing up. He ran his other hand along the chain, trying to distract himself from completely crying through touch. 

Dr. O’deorain could get her sick satisfaction of sending him to detention however much she liked. He couldn’t care less about what she thought...it wasn’t her he was worried about, though.

Genji winced and sniffled, picturing his brother’s disappointed face clear as day in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love fleshing out Genji’s character a LOT, but I’m going to try to make the future chapters have a little more of a superhero/civilian life balance when I’m not purposefully trying to focus on one or the other.
> 
> This chapter was definitely for more civilian things, but as for the future, I really love writing action and I want to get into that juicy superhero drama.


	3. Genji vs Sentai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji faces the challenge of learning to deal with things that aren't active criminals.

Genji felt a sense of dread manifesting like a pit in his chest. He was forced to wait in front of Moira’s desk, sitting in the empty room as the teacher waited outside for Genji’s brother to arrive. Genji tapped his foot anxiously, glancing around the room, his mind racing. 

He was an idiot to not think about anything like this happening. He should have known if any teacher was going to call in Hanzo, it’d be Dr. O’deorain. A part of him wanted to be furious with her, but Genji’s thoughts were overwhelmed with other things. What would Hanzo say? How would he feel? Wait- would his brother try to ground him? Could he even do that? 

That didn’t really matter. Genji nervously wrung his hands together, wishing he wasn’t able to experience Hanzo’s inevitable disappointment. Hanzo already had enough to deal with, Genji had barely even considered him being a burden on his big brother. He desperately wished he could skip the whole ordeal and be on his merry way as Sentai. 

Sentai didn’t have a teacher who had it out for him, or a big brother who’s opinion he cared too much about. He wasn’t seen as the sporadic kid who was always sent to detention, and he didn’t fumble over his own words when talking to cute guys. He knew what he wanted, he knew what to do, and he could go in and beat up bad guys whenever he was needed. 

He didn’t wait in a stupid classroom for a stupid teacher feeling just...stupid. 

He felt his aforementioned dread sink deeper as he heard Moira enter the room, followed by Hanzo. She walked around the desk, sitting across from Genji, clasping her bony fingers together like she was conspiring. Hanzo took his seat next to Genji, wearing a poker face that was obviously hiding something in the general range of being frustrated or even just angry. 

The atmosphere hung with an artificial formality. Hanzo held an air of professionally containing his rage, Moira undoubtedly wanted to tear into the brothers, breaking Genji’s confidence down bit by bit until she could see him cry, and Genji just really, really wanted to make a run for it. All three were resonating with something, and none of it was the will to have a simple, informative meeting.

“Mr. Shimada, your younger brother has made a record of too many detention visits for anything to continue without further punishment. I am incentivised to ask- does he behave this way at home?”. 

“No, he doesn’t”, Hanzo replied, without making any eye contact with Genji as his little brother looked up at him. Genji felt like a little kid being berated, and he hated it.

“Well, I suggest you two work things out before punishments get more severe. The beginning of the year is over and Genji’s behavior can’t be tolerated for much longer”, Moira said, sliding a sheet of paper to Hanzo, which marked the dates of all of Genji’s detentions. 

“I understand”, Hanzo said, picking up the paper, and finally passing a glance to Genji, which very clearly said ‘we’ll talk about this later’. Genji slumped over a bit. “Is there anything else to discuss?”. 

“This is my email. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions”, she said, writing it down on a sheet of paper. Genji could almost feel the smug aura coming off of her. 

“Thank you”, Hanzo said formally, straightening the papers in his grip and turning to walk out, with Genji following. Genji thought that if Hanzo got any colder, he’d be leaving frost behind. 

The entire way back to the car, neither spoke to each other. Hanzo walked along, posture straight, expression unreadable. When they finally got in the car, the air felt like it was holding its own breath right with Genji. Hanzo stayed uncomfortably silent for the longest while, looking ahead with his brow furrowed, before he broke the silence with a sigh. 

“Genji”.

“..Yes?”. 

Hanzo took another small moment, ducking his head. “Why..are you so adamant on making things difficult?”.

“I’m not-”.

“YES YOU ARE”, Hanzo snapped, sharply turning his head to look at Genji. “I- I don’t know what to do with you, Genji. I’m already dealing with enough- both of us are- and I can’t comprehend how you think acting up in class will make things any easier!”. Hanzo gripped the steering wheel tightly, and Genji could clearly see the dark bags under his brother’s eyes. He could see Hanzo’s fatigue in every little movement, which definitely didn’t make Genji feel any better.

“I’m sorry I- I wasn’t thinking- I just-”.

“Obviously”, Hanzo huffed, looking away. “...If I hear about one more bad note for you, Genji, I’m going to have to tell Brigitte you have to stop going over to the Lindholm’s”. 

“No- you can’t-”.

“I can, Genji”, Hanzo said firmly. “I expected you to know better than this, but I’m not so sure anymore. Fix this behavior- prove me wrong”. Hanzo said this with a finality that easily told Genji the conversation was over, and all the way back to the apartment, neither of the brothers spoke a word. 

Genji knew he had screwed up majorly. At least, he did now.

When they arrived home, Genji went right to his room, throwing his shirt to the side in frustration and collapsing on his bed, keeping his phone nearby for any texts from Brigitte. He wrapped himself in his covers, glaring at the wall, trying his best to fight back tears. Of all the things Hanzo was going to take away, he was going to take away Sentai without even knowing it. 

Genji wouldn’t have an option. He’d have to sneak out or something and make things even more strenuous on his brother, and Hanzo would think he was doing it on purpose. Not to mention it’d be the worst to ask to go over to Brigitte’s now, and Hanzo didn’t have to close for his work that night, meaning it wasn’t like Genji could just sneak off regularly. He’d have to be clever. 

Genji sighed and got up to put a white hoodie on, cracking open his door to hear..Hanzo speaking with someone on the phone? Genji leaned forwards a bit, straining to hear what Hanzo was saying. 

“No, it’s fine. You needn’t worry yourself- it’s just-”, a sigh, “it’s hard. I feel bad. He’s obviously been going through a lot, but I didn’t expect him to get in this much trouble...I’m sorry- I am normally not this informal”. 

A voice answered on the other end of the line, but Genji could hardly hear it, and yet...was that who Genji thought it was? Surely not...had Hanzo gone back?

Genji could have sworn he heard Jesse’s voice over the phone. 

That was surely..not the case, right? Hanzo seemed to clearly want to play hard to get with the cowboy, but if he was already venting to him, Genji must have missed something along the way. Hanzo’s words were far from reassuring to Genji, but it made him sure that- if he played it safe- he could get Hanzo to let him go over to Brigitte’s without too much trouble. 

Genji took his opportunity and stepped out of the room, slowly walking up to meet Hanzo in the kitchen. “Hanzo…”.

Hanzo looked over, lowering the phone from his ear, obviously less angry from before, but still far from being approachable. Genji gulped, looking to the side. 

“Can I go over to Brigitte’s? It’s not- we’re partners in a project, so I kinda...have to”. Not a school project, so not completely a lie. 

Hanzo looked down, then over at his phone that- with a peek- Genji could definitely read Jesse’s name on the contact. Jesse McCree. Genji noted that, not passing by the obvious advances made on his brother by the cowman.

“...Very well. But you best be home soon to eat”. 

Genji would have to do his best with that. He nodded, quickly leaving the kitchen to prevent any further interaction with Hanzo, and grabbed his phone, swiftly making his way out of the door without a look back. Hanzo seemed keen on not meeting Genji’s gaze anyway. Genji held onto the faith that all of the conflict would be in the back of his mind once he was suited up and patrolling the city from the skyline. 

Everything was always better when he was able to leap wherever he wanted as Sentai. 

A wave of relief washed over Genji once the workshop came into view- like he was finally free from the confines of worrying about school and his brother and everything normal about him. Well, normal as in normal for Genji. He bet Brigitte would be able to make him feel better, though. After some nerdy rant about how his suit was working, though, of course. Plus, anything Torb said was entertaining enough to Genji. 

Genji hoped his dismal attitude didn’t show as he stepped into the shop, automatically seeing Brigitte’s bright red hair, as she was ducked behind the counter. She popped back up with a wrench, and let out a little “oh!” once she saw Genji. “Genji! Hi- are you alright?”.

Well, subtlety was already out the window. 

“Hm? Oh, oh yeah”, Genji said, trying his best to prevent his voice from breaking. “Yeah, I’m fine. Anything important to do for today?”.

“Um...if you say so. But- yes, actually. I’ve got reports of a potential Deadlock hideout. It’s an offset, so it’s not their base, but I’ve seen sources saying there’s a flux of activity from the gang there. I don’t know if it’ll be a big fighting situation, but it would really help to investigate it, I think”.

“Yeah. Will do”, Genji said, nodding and walking behind the counter, letting Brigitte lead him down to the “Sentai Bunker”. He stuck his hands in his pockets, making his way down the stairs, his green hair- which hadn’t been slicked back that day- falling in his face. He could see Brigitte giving him concerned glances out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t bother to acknowledge them. 

They reached the bottom, and he heard the clinking and whirring of Torb tinkering away. Genji immediately went to his suit, pulling it out of his container, and holding the helmet in both hands. He gazed down at it, his reflection in the black visor. He huffed and immediately went to change, slipping on the armor and flexing his hands as the gloves went on. He came back out, holding his helmet by the opening, armor clicking as he walked. 

“Ready to head out?”, Brigitte questioned, taking the gloved hand that the shurikens came out of and examined it, checking to make sure the new equipment was good to go. 

“Mhm”, Genji replied simply, putting on the helmet.

He went to go to the exit, but he felt Brigitte’s hand rest over his shoulder pad. “Genji? Do...you want to talk about it?”.

“...Maybe later”, he replied, way too close to having his way as Sentai to worry about his civilian problems for the rest of the day. He lifted his hands to make sure his helmet was on right as he turned away again, stretching out his legs. 

“..Okay”, Brigitte said softly, and turned to go back into the workshop. 

Sentai very swiftly arrived at the rooftops, gazing over the city, bathed in a warm light, a chilly breeze sweeping over the buildings, buffeting him. Brigitte’s voice clicked onto the comms. “Okay, Genji. I’m sending you the coordinates. This isn’t like the diner where you can go in and beat them all up- we don’t know what’s going to be there. So be careful”. 

Sentai saw coordinates appear on his visor, and he stood up, scanning the rooftops. He wished he had a more definite answer of what he was looking for, but he supposed a mere location would do. If he really needed it, he could always try to contact Jesse. 

Following the coordinates, he leapt down onto another rooftop, swiftly arriving in a shorter, less clean district of the city. It wasn’t as crowded, and the buildings were rusted and bricks were cracked. The lampposts were older and curved, and wires and ropes hung over every alley they could. There were spots everywhere where Sentai could perch or land, and he leapt to each one, making his way down the street. 

He saw the destination- a large warehouse with a wavy metal garage, and another, smaller door on the side. Large windows were near the roof, and more wires connected the warehouse’s roof to another. He landed on one of the wires, walking across it like a tightrope before he landed on the warehouse’s roof. He went to the other side, using the high vantage point to keep a lookout for any approaching people for a few minutes before he dropped down, landing on the sill of the window on the side of the building, running his gloved hand along the dusty exterior of the window, brushing it off to take a peek inside. 

Once he felt it was safe enough, he pushed it in, the glass lifting on the inside, creating a small crack that created an entrance. He looked in, quickly glancing around for anyone inside, before swiftly making his way in, crawling onto a support beam. It was pretty empty inside, a few large crates here and there. Some parts of the concrete floor were wet with puddles, most likely from leaks from former rain. The roof was rusted, and the warm light of the evening spilled from the windows, splattering on the ground, and Sentai could see little specks of dust floating in the air through the light beams. It was a good thing he was wearing a mask, or he might be risking a sneeze. 

He balanced on the support beam, walking along and peering down, observing the environment from above. He checked for cameras, and he considered himself lucky to not see any. After checking several times over for any unwanted company, Sentai dropped down to the floor, his landing practically silent. He slowly rose, looking around, and brushed his shoulder pad just in case any dust decided to perch on him. 

He walked over to a crate, opening it up to see...clothing? He pulled a piece of cloth, looking at what was supposedly just a patterned bandana. He scrunched it in his grip and threw it back into the crate, digging through all the clothes to see if there was anything buried in the pile. Disappointed to see nothing, Sentai sighed, closing the lid to the crate.

He moved on to the next, then the next, only finding suspiciously mundane things. Was this warehouse a decoy? Something to attract the attention of the police or Sentai and feign a cover so nothing else is investigated? While Deadlock sometimes wasn’t the brightest bunch, Sentai couldn’t help but give that possibility to them. 

He sighed and walked over to a final, extremely large crate, about three times the height of him. He climbed to the top, and with a heave, lifted the lid. A fat load of nothing- just a bunch of hay. He growled, dropping down and almost turned back to go elsewhere before something caught his eye. Was this part of the floor...cleaner than the rest? Most of the concrete was littered with dust, some of it being kicked up as Sentai traveled around the warehouse. And yet, this concrete was darker, not coated with any dust, as if...something had been moved over it, not letting as much dust settle in. 

Sentai looked up at the giant crate. Cracking his knuckles, Sentai walked to the side of it, pressing himself up against it. He grunted, pushing all his weight forwards, digging his heels in. The crate moved slowly, scraping against the ground, making a very unsavory sound as it moved. He exhaled sharply as he stopped the crate, shaking himself out, and smirking under the mask as he saw what the crate was hiding. A door, much like the entrance one on the side of the building. It was small, very much hidden by the crate. 

He walked up and tried to open it, but it was apparently locked. He tried jamming the handle a few more times before taking a step back, letting himself breathe for a moment. Sentai then stood sideways, and rearing up, he lifted his leg, curled it in, then kicked forwards, the immense force knocking the metal door from its hinges, sending it crashing down with a clatter. 

He pressed on the side of his helmet, activating his comms. “Brigitte. I went to the warehouse- it looked empty, but I found a secret door. It leads down somewhere, into some kind of bunker I think”.

“Interesting...be careful, Genji. No telling what could be down there…”, Brigitte responded, sounding very hesitant. 

“You’ve already told me to be careful. Don’t worry, I’ll be alright”, he said with a fair dose of overconfident swagger, and started heading down the musty stairs. 

The passageway was tight, barely lit, and even more dusty than the upper warehouse. He placed each foot carefully, not wanting to miss a step and trip. Luckily, there was a metal rail to latch onto, and he held it as he swiftly made his way down, listening intently for any sign of company. The room he arrived at was small, and lit by one circular lamp hanging off the ceiling. Desks and shelves sat around, with several small crates and stacks of papers. On the nearest desk, blueprints were laid out. 

He walked over to it, separating the papers, looking at each one intently. Most of the text he couldn’t read- some of it was in regular English, but a lot of it was odd...what was that- American military code? Sentai had no idea how to read that, so he took pictures with his visor, hoping Brigitte or Torbjörn could help him decode it. There were pictures, though. 

It was a map of some kind of route. It almost looked familiar to Sentai, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. But for whatever reason, it was highlighted, which must mean something. Sentai kept snapping pictures of them, and once he was done, turned back to examine the shelves. He opened one of the crates and was met with what he expected to see up top- firearms. 

This obviously wasn’t their biggest storage unit, but Sentai considered what he found a success. He had no idea what the things on the papers meant, but there had to be some explanation. 

Before he could dig deeper, Sentai felt a sudden feeling of unease, sweat immediately running down his neck. Setting the papers down, he sharply looked towards the door. Someone was there.

He dashed out, running up the stairs, keeping his footsteps completely silent. He arrived at the top, peering out to see about three of the Deadlock members walk in. Sentai considered going out to fight them, but he didn’t know if any others were nearby, and then they’d know Sentai had discovered their plans. He ducked behind the large crate, stealthily climbing to the top, and leaping to a support beam when the Deadlock members weren't looking.

He followed the support beam to where he came in, lifted the window, slipped out of the crack, and climbed onto the roof, luckily not attracting any attention. He breathed out leaping a few rooftops over, and sitting down, slipping off his helmet to wipe sweat off of his brow. He quickly put the helmet back on, clicking back into the comms. 

“Brigitte. I have photos- they’re in code, but they look like plans”, Sentai said, letting himself catch his breath. 

“Plans? Get over here quick- I wanna take a look at them”.

“You can, but I have to be home quick. My brother made it pretty clear I needed to be home soon- we’re apparently working on a project together”.

“Oh- hah- alright. No worries- I’ll see what I can make of the plans”, Brigitte said, her tone light. She didn’t sound as concerned and prying as she did earlier, and Sentai felt relieved at that. Some investigations or missions always made things better.

“Thanks, Brig”, Sentai said softly, and left the comm channel. He sighed before leaping onto nearby wires, then vaulting himself back the way he came.

\----

Genji stepped into his apartment, stretching out and rotating his head to pop it, decently worn out from leaping roof to roof. He noticed Hanzo sitting on the couch, the TV on, reporting on the latest situations regarding the Deadlock Gang. If Genji did things right, hopefully things like that would be off of the news. 

He walked into the living room, opening his mouth to tentatively greet Hanzo, before noticing his brother slumped over to the side a bit, asleep. He sighed, walking into the kitchen to take a packet of thin seaweed squares, not bothering to put them with anything, and took his food into his room, just wanting to get out of there and not wake Hanzo up. 

He grunted as he stretched out and hopped onto his bed, and taking a look around the room as he snacked. It...was a bit of a mess. He’d cleaned it when he invited Lúcio over, but it has become a bit of a mess since, with him constantly throwing his clothes around, feeling too unmotivated to do anything about keeping his room cleanly. Hanzo let him go out, Genji could at least do something. Well…something that wasn’t investigating a criminal gang. 

Feeling safe enough to use his powers, Genji dashed to a small pile of clothes on the floor, his hands moving in a green blur, folding the clothes at a superhuman pace. It was easy, especially when his powers were mainly used for beating up villains and doing flips and jumps through the city. General things would be easier if Genji could just casually use his powers most of the time, but he couldn’t. Of course.

When he’d finished folding things and putting things away, he leaped onto his bed, breathing out sharply as he landed. He reached off his bed to grab a gaming controller and the remote to his TV, turning it all on. When he got online, he almost immediately heard a ‘bing’ from the social invitations. He smiled, grabbed his headset, and accepted the invitation.

“Hey, Hana”, he greeted, adjusting the mic on the headset. 

“Genji!”, she greeted on the other end.

Hana Song had been Genji’s buddy for a long time- even before Brigitte. A while ago, Hana had to move out of New Unity and back to Korea, but she and Genji still stayed in touch via their shared love of video games. Hana was his company when he was home when he wasn’t getting along with Hanzo, or when he just wanted to play video games. 

“What do you wanna play?”, Hana questioned, and he could hear the ‘pop’ of her bubblegum through the headphones. “Maybe some SS? I’ve been meaning to get back into that”.

“Sure thing”, Genji agreed, clambering off his bed and letting Hana take group leadership and get them in a game. He slipped off his hoodie, and put on a pair of sweatpants, along with a white crop top, then brought his hair back and out of his eyes with a green headband. 

He sat down, leaning back against his bed, and took a sweet comfort in just gaming with Hana, but a question lingered in the back of his mind. After a while of just playing, Genji decided to ask it.

“Hey Hana? Can I ask you something?”.

“Of course, girl! Ask away”, she responded brightly, and Genji let out a soft laugh. 

“What do you do when you feel like you’re...not doing enough? I mean like, when you’re already doing a lot but you can’t take credit for it, and you wanna do more and be proactive and stuff, but you just don’t know where to start”.

“Uhhh...big question? Everything okay?”, she asked, her confusion apparent through her voice. 

“Yes- everything is okay. It’s just some stuff with Hanzo. He’s...working through a lot, and I don’t want to make things harder. It’d be...bad of me, you know?”, Genji replied, clearing his throat. 

“Yeah, I know”, Hana sighed, and she took a speculative moment. “Well…I mean, I just know that you have to start simple. Don’t rush things, don’t try to be some...shooting star. If you do the easy stuff then you can move onto the harder stuff- like levels. Take on what you know you can manage, and only what you know you can manage”. 

“So...I guess..I can manage not getting sent to detention every day”, Genji replied slowly, letting his small sideways smile onto his expression.

Hana laughed in disbelief. “Every day?! Damn, Genji. You really can do it all”, she said jovially, poking him with a tease. 

“Of course I can! I’m the best”, he said, swiveling his head in a mock-cocky fashion, now baring a full on smirk, and ran his hand through his hair.

“Sure”, Hana laughed, and took her minute to let her amusement die down. The two gamed for a good while, chatting- but not about serious familial problems or anything. By the time they finished, it was dark, and Genji bid her goodnight. He walked over to the simple lamp by his bed, turning it on and letting the room be lit by the small light, and some glow-in-the-dark stickies on the ceiling. 

He made his way into his bathroom, putting on a rejuvenating face mask, and sighed, walking back out. He groaned, laying down on his white, fluffy rug, and staring up at the ceiling, pondering. He tapped his finger over his stomach, everything just so...quiet. After a long time of laying there, Genji sat up, walking out of his room and slowly making his way into the living room. 

He looked over to the couch, and sat down, looking worriedly at Hanzo, still asleep. He took a moment of staring, considering if Genji should even wake him, and then reached over to nudge Hanzo’s arm. Hanzo grunted, snorting amusingly as he jolted awake, stunned by the green skin rejuvenating mask on Genji’s face. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, sitting up, his long hair not tied back and falling into his face. 

“Hm? What..time is it?”, Hanzo mumbled, blinking disorientedly. 

“Late”, Genji answered, raising an eyebrow. “..Hanzo? Can I talk to you?”.

Hanzo took a moment, as if he was taking a moment to remember the events of the day since he’d just woken up. He then crossed his arms, taking a deep breath as he leaned back. “Alright. What do you want to talk about?”, he said, making it apparent he was still upset. Genji didn’t blame him. 

“I...well- I mean to say…”, Genji started, then sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...make things worse for you”.

Hanzo looked at him for a moment, then looked down, rubbing the side of his face. “I know”, he said quietly, nodding, then looked back up, frustration gone from his expression. “I know. I...shouldn’t have yelled at you. It just made us upset with each other, but...this behavior you’ve been...exterting. It’s- it’s not okay, Genji. I know things have been hard for us, and it seems like sometimes..caring isn’t worth it. But it is. It can be hard, but it’s important. Especially now. Caring, I mean. Being strong and having dignity”. 

“Yeah”, Genji said, wringing his hands together and looking down. “..sorry”. 

“It’s alright”, Hanzo sighed, placing a hand on Genji’s shoulder and pulling him into a hug. “Please, though. Don’t...make a fool of yourself all the time. Promise?”.

“Alright...I promise..on one condition”.

“Excuse me?”.

“I promise on one condition! That you tell me when you decide to get together with a cowman”, Genji said, bringing up his knee to rest his head on it, smirking cheekily.

Hanzo inhaled sharply, frustration immediately returning, although it wasn’t the guilt-inducing kind. “I did not “get together” with Jesse. He just gave me his number- in a completely PLATONIC fashion, might I add”. 

“Of course, of course!”, Genji said, raising his hands and cocking his head sideways. “But, you know, if you’re gay I get it. I’m on the rainbow spectrum too, you’re not alone-”.

Hanzo chuckled, waving his hand to get Genji to shut up. “You’re hilarious. But no. Well- yes- I’m gay- but no. I’m not in any sort of romantic relationship with Jesse”. 

“Okay..but since you two are ‘friends’”,-Genji said “friends” with finger air quotations-,”does that mean we’ll be going to that diner more?”. Genji tried to openly portray his question regarding the food, and not the fact that he was spying on the cowboy in a civilian way for his superhero alter ego, as crazy as it sounded. 

“I suppose it does”, Hanzo said simply, closing his eyes and accepting the fate that his little brother thought him the type to date a hick diner owner. 

Genji smiled and clapped, bouncing up and off the couch, purposefully making his giddy demeanor annoying to his brother. 

“Genji! If you say anything I swear-”.

“Goodnight, Anija!”.

“Genji-”.

“I’ll see you in the morning!”. 

“GEN-”.

Hanzo’s voice was cut off as Genji shut his bedroom door, smirking. Hana was right. Genji could manage things. For starters, apologizing to his brother. Which he did. So...the next step would be Moira.

Genji grumbled, rubbing his face as he slid back into bed. There was...absolutely no way he was going to be nice to her. But, like Hanzo suggested, maybe Genji was due for a little self control. Sometimes it didn’t hurt to care. 

Smiling, Genji sunk into his bed, folding his arms behind his head, leaning them on his pillow, staring up at the little, plastic green glowing stars on his ceiling.

Focus on the things you can manage. Just like levels. 

But, levels didn’t come without their obstacles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously love writing the Shimada brothers' relationship. I love exploring the challenges they face, and I love grounding them in reality that contrasts with Genji's nightly outings as Sentai.
> 
> I am EXTREMELY excited to write the next chapter. Don't be surprised if it isn't out tomorrow or Monday. Just beware the foreboding final sentence. (It's not that bad, I promise). 
> 
> And seaweed squares are something I've become addicted to, so I had to include them. Very salty and scrumptious, I suggest savoring seaweed sometimes somehow.


	4. Power Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji faces personal issues after having to go a night without being Sentai.

Genji was grateful there was no school that day. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to handle it if there was, both under normal circumstances, and what was going to happen that day.

The day before everything happened, Brigitte had delivered less than satisfactory news to Genji once he’d arrived at the workshop. He’d stepped in, realizing the company was greater than what he usually saw, with Ingrid and a few of Brigitte’s siblings downstairs, when usually Genji came over, they were upstairs. 

Brigitte looked over at him, her apprehension clear in her expression. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to a corner near the entrance, glancing back. “Genji, there aren’t any crime reports today and this is a really bad time-”, she whispered. “Maybe you just...don’t go on patrol tonight. I’m sure the city can last one evening without you”.

“But- I’ve never really-”, he started, but was cut off.

“I know. You’ve never really not gone out to do...your thing...but you can’t today, I’m sorry. More family and friends are coming over- including Ana and Fareeha- and this place- it’s just not a good time, Genji, I’m sorry”. 

Genji stayed silent for a short moment, curling his lips in, but then he sighed. “Alright. I understand. The city can last without me, right?”, he said with a nervous laugh.

“Of course it can”, Brigitte said, rubbing Genji’s arm comfortingly. 

“Right. Uh- well- tell Torb I said hi”.

Brigitte giggled, smiling brightly. “I will, Genji. Thanks for understanding”.

Genji made his way back out of the shop, hearing the door jingle behind him, a little stunned by the very brief visit. He pondered, for a moment, if Brigitte was right, but swiftly came to the conclusion that she most certainly was. The city had survived years without Sentai- one night was practically nothing. 

And, Genji was right. Nothing happened to the city without Genji. However, Genji was in a little trouble without Sentai.

That night he hadn’t noticed anything wrong. He had dinner with Hanzo, the two brothers chatting casually (with Genji’s relief that the conversations weren’t as heavy as the day before). Genji gamed with Hana a bit and texted Angela, actually feeling like he was having a good time with the night off. 

By the time he settled into sleep, he went to bed feeling content. Of course he enjoyed being Sentai, but the day was hardly bad- even school had gone smoothly before he met up with Brigitte. However, the next day...wasn’t quite the same.

Genji noticed it the moment he woke up. It wasn’t obvious or anything, but he could feel something off with him. He felt a buzz, like he had just drank a cup of coffee. It wasn’t pronounced, but as he put makeup on and got into a nice, casual Saturday outfit, the energy only grew. By the time he walked out to greet Hanzo for the morning, he felt like he needed to go for a jog or something, and his attention span could hardly stay on one thing for long. 

He tapped his finger against his leg as he walked into the living room, looking at what Hanzo had on the TV. Pretty Woman-a movie Genji knew to be a favorite of Hanzo’s. 

“Hey, Hanzo”, Genji greeted, not quite wanting to sit on the couch, feeling a bit too jittery for that. 

“Good mor-...are you alright?”, Hanzo asked, noticing Genji’s demeanor; how his little brother was rapidly tapping his finger on his thigh, or glancing around the room or shuffling in place quite a bit. 

“Yeah, mhm! Fine”, Genji replied, making the final decision to sit on the couch next to his brother, propping his feet up and tapping it on the air, arms crossed as he gazed from wall to wall of the apartment. 

“...Are you sure?”, Hanzo questioned slowly. 

“Completely sure. Completely. Completelyyyyyy. Completely sure, sure completely”. 

“Uh. Okay”, Hanzo said, giving a couple of awkward, concerned glances to Genji. 

There was nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing- but if there was nothing wrong, why did Genji feel like this? The energy his powers normally gave him when he dashed or generally moved quickly felt like it was now coursing through him without restraint, and every little thought, movement- whatever- seemed to want to go right to hyperactive. 

“I need to go shopping for a few things, but I’ll be back soon. Will you...be alright?”.

“I’ll be fine”, Genji said simply, giving Hanzo a smile, although his little energetic twitches and tics were apparent. 

Hanzo furrowed his brow, and nodded, giving Genji a very unsure pat on the shoulder before getting up and grabbing his keys off the counter, as well as his wallet. “Please text me if...you need anything”, Hanzo said, obviously phrasing the sentence very carefully. 

“Will do”, Genji said with a click of his tongue. 

After a quick moment, Genji heard the click of the door closing, and he glanced over the couch before picking up his phone. He should call Brigitte, right? She might know something about...whatever was going on. But it was her weekend, Fareeha was over at her house, and what if it wasn’t a big deal?

He set down his phone, scratching his chin. He reverted back to hyper-actively glancing around the apartment, his breath rate almost..increasing? The walls, the walls, they looked very climbable- what? No, he couldn’t climb the walls of his apartment, what if he broke something? 

He then looked at the kitchen. Get something out of the pantry, he was really hungry- no- he wasn’t? He never really was hungry when he woke up, and yet- why did he feel- Genji groaned, rubbing his head. Okay. Maybe he should call Brigitte. 

He grabbed his phone and clicked on her contact, putting it on speaker and setting it down on the table. He tapped his foot on the floor, slumped over with his hands clasped together.

A click. “Genji? Hey, what’s up?”.

“Something is seriously wrong with me”, Genji said quickly, almost immediately after she’d finished her greeting. 

“Wh- huh? Are- are you okay? What happened?”, Brigitte questioned, her tone immediately concerned. 

“I don’t know! It- it’s just gotten worse and I can hardly- what was that? Uh- nothing- I can hardly...uhm...think? Right? Everything’s really, really weird right now”, Genji said, having to actively prevent himself from stammering. 

“Okay- okay...give me a second, I’m coming over, okay? Just give me a bit. Call me if things get worse”, she said, and he could hear her getting up and collecting her things over the line. 

“Okay”, Genji replied, and tried steadying his breathing, standing up on the couch and bouncing just a bit. He looked down. 

By the time Hanzo came back, he arrived just in time to see Genji jumping on the couch, nearly touching the ceiling. “Oh! Hanzo! Hi!”, he said, each word in between jumps. 

“Genji?”, Hanzo said, curling his lip and almost side-eyeing his brother. “What are you doing…?”.

“Jumping”, Genji panted, then flipped in the air. “Isn’t it obvious?”. 

“Well, yes I can see that- but-”, Hanzo started, then huffed, walking over to grab Genji’s arm to get him to stop, not wanting him to break the couch. “What’s gotten into you?”.

Genji opened his mouth to answer Hanzo, but the kitchen immediately caught his eye, and he vaulted over the couch, running to the pantry. He dug through it until he huffed, pulling out his seaweed squares, and eating them like there was no tomorrow. 

“Genji!”, Hanzo said, walking briskly over to his little brother and pulling the box away from him. “Hello? I asked you a question”.

“Sorry! Sorry- really hungry”, he said, his prior reasoning that he wasn’t hungry completely buried. He tried to reach for the box and take it from Hanzo, but Hanzo brought it out of Genji’s reach. 

“Genji, I don’t know what-”.

“Me neither. Brigitte’s coming over! I called her- she’s coming over. To- to help”, he said. ‘How am I going to explain this to him? I’m not. Why would I? Because he asked. Well, I can’t tell him! It’s obviously-’. 

“I didn’t-”, Hanzo started, then he sighed, taking a moment to calm down. “Can you please just talk to me? Something is obviously wrong”.

“Nothing’s wrong!”, Genji said, voice cracking. He then cleared his throat and looked over. Running and leaping back over the couch, he accidentally hit his ankle on the coffee table, and he yelped. 

Hanzo shook his head and disbelief, and turned to get on his phone. 

“What are you doing?”, Genji asked, popping his head up over the couch cushions. 

“Calling for help. Do we need to take you to the hospital?”, Hanzo said, looking back at Genji, one hand on his hip, and the other holding his phone to his ear.

“Are you calling MCCREE?!”, Genji yelled, gaping his mouth in a very animated fashion. 

“Genji! Don’t be loud”, Hanzo said sternly, and his eyes widened as the phone was answered, and he turned around. “Jesse- yes…hello...I’m..well, I don’t normally ask this...favors...you’re kind...it’s Genji...no, no, nothing too bad…”.

Hanzo shot Genji daggers with his eyes as his little brother started making smooching noises. “You don’t have to, I just....Thank you, Jesse...no, of course...yes...I’ll text you my address...thank you, really”. 

With that, Hanzo hung up. Genji KNEW Hanzo had a thing for him. How couldn’t he? Not after THAT conversation, no way. Hanzo was- hey, did he leave the light on in his room? Genji shook his head. Damn, what was happening to him?!

Genji snatched the gray pillow sitting by the arm rest and buried his head under it, trying to keep his thoughts steady and coherent. He felt Hanzo sit by him, placing a comforting hand on his back, but he only looked up when he heard a knock on the door.

Hanzo got up to answer it, letting out a relieved sigh and smiling once he saw Jesse in the doorway. “Jesse. Really- I can’t thank you enough”.

“Don’t worry about it, Hanzo”, Jesse responded, his southern drawl as amusing as ever. 

Genji clambered over the couch, strolling over to the two at the door, trying to keep himself contained as possible, which meant holding his breath. 

“Uh..is he..good?”, Jesse said awkwardly, looking down at Genji. 

“No”, Hanzo said flatly, and crossed his arms. 

Genji’s face became strained as his ability to hold his breath started to give, and he took Jesse’s hand. He buried his face in it, screaming into the cowman’s palm. McCree looked down at him with wide eyes. 

“Yeah. Okay. So he isn’t good”, Jesse said, pulling his hand away from Genji and sticking his hands in his pockets. 

Genji focused on his breathing- in and out, in and out- before he wrapped his arms around himself and trudged over to the couch again, trying to keep his thoughts in one place. It was gonna be fine, Brigitte was coming. It was gonna be fine, Brigitte was coming. Jesse was here. Jesse was here and...with Hanzo. 

Completely having lost his grounding train of thought, Genji looked back, smirking. “Jesse! It was really nice of you to come over- I’m sure Hanzo is reallyyy grateful”, he said, leaning over the back cushion. 

He then looked sharply to his bedroom and ran into it, slamming the door behind him, leaving the other two behind and bewildered. It wasn’t long before he reentered, slipping on a white jacket and his locket. 

“Where do you think you're going?”, Hanzo said, walking up to Genji, placing both hands on his shoulders.

“To greet Brigitte! She’s coming and-“.

“She knows where our apartment is. She can come up; you’re staying right here”, Hanzo said sternly, leading Genji back over to the couch. 

Genji swiftly ducked under Hanzo’s arm and back to the door, before he felt another grab on his arm.

“Woah, there”, Jesse said, pulling Genji back. “Settle down. I think yer brother’s right- it’s best you stay here”.

“No- I have to get out!”, Genji protested. Why did he need to get out-? He didn’t need to be in this cramped apartment anymore- it was small and everything was really, really climbable. 

“Maybe we do need to go out. Where’s the nearest hospital?”, Hanzo questioned, walking over to them, rubbing the side of his arm.

“I don’t need to go to a hospital!”, Genji exclaimed, backing away from them. If he did, what would they find? Surely the doctors would out him as Sentai with all the energy coursing through him! He couldn’t let Hanzo and McCree take him anywhere. 

Hanzo almost looked as if he was going to scold Genji, but there was a quick knock at the door. Genji ran between them and answered it, relief flooding through him upon seeing Brigitte. He pulled her into a tight hug, to which she let out a little “oh!”.

“Brigitte! They’re trying to take me to the hospitallll”, he cried, ducking behind her for protection.

“The hospital?!”, she gasped, turning around to face him. “Genji, if you- uhhhh”, she started, then stopped, obviously coming to the realization Genji had. “You know what? Ana’s a doctor! I could take you over to my house”.

“I don’t need a DOCTOR!”, Genji huffed, then Brigitte reached a finger up to shush him.

“Genji! A…”doctor”...you know?”, she said, clenching her teeth. 

Genji sat there for a moment, dumbly, before he finally got it, the realization dawning on his face. “Ohhhhh. Got it. Yes. I should definitely go over to your house. Definitely, definitely”, he said, closing his eyes and nodding rapidly. 

Genji looked back to see Hanzo raising an eyebrow at them, clearly suspicious. “Genji...are you sure you should be going to someone else’s house while you are like this?”.

“Absolutely. This’ll be the best thing ever for me, trust me”, he said, grasping Brigitte’s hand and waving down with the other in a dismissing motion. “Brigitte knows what she’s talking about”.

After a heavy moment of consideration, Hanzo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “...Very well. But Genji, if anything- and I mean ANYTHING- goes wrong, call me immediately. Brigitte? Will you hold him to that?”.

“Sure thing, Hanzo”, she said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control”.

\----

She did not have everything under control. 

The closer the two got to the workshop, the worse Genji had seemingly gotten. He went from being unable to focus and extremely energetic to saying nearly everything that came to mind, and wanting to do anything that came to mind. He hardly had any control over himself at this point, hardly processing that there was a problem anymore. 

Brigitte was having a VERY hard time reigning him in. She’d shoved him into his house, trying very hard to be sneaky. Pushing him along, she ducked behind the counter, trying to stay hidden from the people hanging around in the shop, all with some sort of drink or food item in hand. “Be very quiet”, she whispered, clasping a hand over his mouth. 

“Mm-mm!”, he replied agreeably, with Brigitte being grateful he was at least being compliant. 

She grasped his hand and led him over to the door, and the two stealthily made their way in, and down to the Sentai Bunker. The moment they made their way down, Genji leaped forwards into the training area, a green blur. He pounced on top of a dummy, sitting on its shoulders. 

“Okay...let’s find out what’s wrong with you”, Brigitte said, going into the workshop and pulling out a little silver, square-shaped device. 

It was what they had used at the very beginning of the whole Sentai thing to evaluate his powers, and see exactly what was going on with him. Hopefully this would point out anything out of the ordinary with him. “C’mere”.

He bounced off the training dummy, flipping in the air before landing, then dashing over to her. She pulled a metal stool and motioned for him to sit down, which he did, but not before propping himself up to where he was balancing on one foot. 

“Okay”, she breathed, and pressed one end of the square device to his arm, looking at it intently. She could tell Genji was close to jumping off the stool and doing something else, so she took a few more seconds before pulling it away and examining the data. 

“Oh, wow....Genji! This is crazy. It looks like your powers have just gone...haywire! The energy you get from dashing or just going fast isn’t stopping when you’re not using it, and the concentration of it isn’t dying down..it just looks like it’s increasing by the minute! Who knows how much of this you can handle? Any more of this and you’ll be unable to control yourself at all- no less think straight. If it keeps doing this- I don’t know what’ll happen to you!”.

Genji hardly seemed to acknowledge her, proceeding to backflip off of the stool and running to the training area, swinging off of a hanging rope. “So”,- he landed- “I’m just going crazy? Or what?”.

“No, you’re not going crazy. You’re just being extremely overstimulated to the point where you can get...a little loopy, I guess”. 

Genji bounded and flipped from obstacle to obstacle for a moment, before running back over to Brigitte. “I need to get out of here”, he panted. “It’s too cramped”.

“No! No, we can’t leave! We have to find a way to fix you”, she said adamantly, shaking her head. 

“You said it was just a bunch of energy, right? So let’s just exert it. We can go upstairs. We can go outside. We can go down the street. We can go to the shopping district. WE COULD GO TO THE MALL”, he exclaimed happily, then did three backwards somersaults. 

“There is no way we’re going in public with you like this, Genji! What if you can’t think well to the point where you reveal yourself as Sentai?”. 

“I won’t doooo thaaaat”, he said, smirking and laughing as if it was such a hilarious thing to propose. 

“Genji...if we go out tonight..you have to PROMISE me you will keep your lips absolutely sealed on ANYTHING superhero alter-ego related, alright?”, she said after a brief moment of consideration. 

Of course he could keep his lips sealed! He was the best at keeping secrets. The beesssstttt. Anything for Brigitte. Then, an idea.

“Hey! We should invite some people. Friend outing. Best friend outing. Best friends”, he said, pulling her into a very, very tight hug. 

“Genji! Super strength”, she wheezed, and he released her. “And no. This isn’t a fun little outing, this is to get all this energy out or balanced before it...does something bad”. 

“But-”.

“No buts. We’re going out, that’s all I’m giving you”.

“We’re not going out? You’re going out with Fareeha, and I’M going out with Lúcio”, he said, cocking a brow. 

“Okay, no. We both have crushes, Genji, we’re not dating them yet. And you know I’m a lesbian- just- never mind. Just...follow me and keep as calm as you can, okay?”.

“Can as I calm, got it”, he confirmed, balancing on the balls of his feet. 

The door at the top of the stairs hissed as it opened, and Brigitte and Genji both jolted as they looked up. Brigitte relaxed, though, as they both saw her dad. 

“Papa!”, she breathed, placing a relieved hand over her heart. “Genji and I are about to go out to the mall. He’s having some...power problems”.

“Power problems..?”, Torb echoed, looking over at Genji. 

Genji walked over to him, using Torb’s head as an arm rest. “Hey. Torb could use a mall day. He dresses like..he dresses...he dresses like..A LUMBERJACK!”.

“What the hell?”, Torb said, shoving Genji’s arm off of his head. 

“He’s just-“, Brigitte said, grabbing Genji’s arm and pulling him back. “He’s just having a rough time”.

“Well, find a way to make him have a better time before we have to put him down”, Torb replied with a strong sense of dry sarcasm. 

“HE’S GOING TO KILL ME?!”, Genji yelled, then began dramatically sobbing. 

“No- he’s not!”, Brigitte said quickly, then started leading Genji up the stairs. “Look! We’re going shopping! C’mon Genji”.

Genji immediately perked up, racing to the top of the stairs, breaking free from Brigitte’s hold. “Alright!! Let’s go get some cute stuff and eat some food and find new jewelry and eat some food and explore new shops and eat some food-“.

“I get it, Gen. Thanks”, Brigitte said, and brought him out of the room. She led him further upstairs to her own room, grabbing her wallet, then back down and out of the shop. 

The two headed down the street, and Brigitte had to forcibly pull Genji back from walking directly into oncoming traffic a few times, very quickly questioning if going to the mall was a good idea. However, she knew if they didn’t go, Genji would never shut up about it, and they needed a way to exert his energy without Brigitte having to manage his outings as Sentai. 

The shopping district was nice and colorful. There were shops and restaurants and little businesses galore. The sidewalks were a pleasant white brick instead of gray concrete, and there were colorful signs and art along the side of buildings and the occasional line of people waiting to go into a shop. At the end of the street, which acted as the end of the shopping district, was a very large mall. It was an outlet mall, so it acted more as a little neighborhood of shops- all connected in that unit rather than just down the street like the rest. There was also a tall, glass building in the middle that held a few other shops and the food court. 

Genji clapped his hands excitedly, beaming at Brigitte. He started forwards, but Brigitte pulled him back, leaning down to meet at his eye level. “Genji. Please, please, please try to restrain yourself, okay? We don’t want to embarrass ourselves”. 

“I can handle it! Quit worrying about me”, he said, taking a step back and running a hand through his green hair. 

“Well, I have cause to worry about you”, she sighed, and took his hand, leading him into the mall and trying to prevent him from dashing into the nearest most appealing shop. 

The two went through the entrance to the outlet mall, with people going down the bricked pavements, sitting at benches or around a fountain in the center, most carrying around bags that held clothing or other miscellaneous items. Genji walked over to the aforementioned fountain, clearly leaning forwards to reach in, and Brigitte caught him before he did, immediately trying to divert his attention. 

“Genji! Uhhh..where do you want to go? We could get uhm...new clothes. Athletic clothes! Yeah? Let’s go to a sports clothing place”, she said, beginning to lead him away. 

“I don’t want to get sports clothes. I want to eat something...WHY am I so hungry?!”, he cried, looking around desperately for a good place to eat.

“Okay, okay- we can find a good place”, she said, nodding as she looked down in contemplation. “How about...we go to the food court and take a look around?”.

Genji seemed to like the idea, since he promptly began dragging Brigitte towards the glass building in the center, and then inside, the two friends briskly going up the stairs and to a large court, with round tables dotting the room, the outskirts with food booths and artificial palm trees creating a median between each. The roof was triangular, metal support beams holding up the glass. 

“You find a good place to eat, and I’ll find us a table and get me something, okay?”, Brigitte said, looking down at him. 

Genji gave her a thumbs up, and jogged off to one of the kiosks, leaving her behind. The one he walked up to was a sandwich bar, then the next one he observed was chicken, then the next, then the next, all different, and beholding various foods, all very appealing to someone hyped up on superpower natural energy. 

By the time Genji and Brigitte met back up, Genji had...about seven round little plastic things in his hand. Brigitte had one. 

“Genji...how much did you order?”, Brigitte asked slowly, looking down at all the pingers. 

“I don’t know”, he said. “I thought I just looked at all the options…”. He looked down at the discs in his arms. “Oh”. 

“Genji!”, Brigitte yelped, clutching her hair. “I can’t pay for all of that! I didn’t bring enough money!”.

“Oh my god we’re going to be arrested”, Genji breathed, eyes widening.

“No- we’re not-“.

“I can’t be ARRESTED! I’M-“. Brigitte quickly clasped her hand over his mouth. 

“It’s okay. I’m gonna call my dad; we aren’t going to be arrested”, she said slowly, looking him in the eyes. “Just...stay calm, and don’t loudly blurt the fact that you’re...y’know..”.

“Sen-“.

“YES. Genji. That”, she huffed, exasperated. “Now we can just wait for our food and my dad, then eat, and not talk while we’re eating and not freak out”. 

Surprisingly enough, things went along with Brigitte’s plan. They ate in silence- mostly credited to Genji’s apparent extreme “starvation”. Brigitte assumed the flux in his powers was burning through any food he had eaten a lot faster than any normal metabolism would. 

A seething Torbjörn eventually arrived, paying for the sheer amount Genji had ordered, mumbling something about “damn kid not being grateful” or something- Genji wasn’t paying attention- and he was swiftly on his way, leaving Genji and Brigitte to do other things. 

The two eventually made their way back out of the food court and had decided to go to a clothing shop, with Brigitte seeming actually happy and content amidst having to deal with Genji, when the friends had decided it would be cute to get a matching pair of clothing, to “commemorate the day”. It was a little something Genji had cracked, sounding mildly coherent before going right back to following a spontaneous train of thought that Brigitte couldn’t follow for the life of her. She considered, for a moment, if it meant he was getting better, but she would swiftly be proven wrong. 

They had spent a few minutes in a quaint clothing shop, all sporting cute tees and crop tops, sweatpants and jeans and all the miscellaneous things. Genji hardly noticed Brigitte’s amusement, when every time he saw something that was cute, he squealed, showed it to Brigitte ecstatically, then put it back to find the next eye-catching clothing article. He attracted a few gazes, but he never noticed them. Not until he ran into a familiar one, that is. 

Rounding a circular rack, he brushed his hand against the hanging shirts before he bumped into someone, then bouncing back a step, startled. His expression split into his sideways smile though, once he saw who it was. “Angela!”, he exclaimed happily, bringing her into a hug. 

“Oh! Genji! Hi!”, she laughed, bewildered. “Clothes shopping? I mean- you are- why else would you be here”, she said, giving an awkward laugh. 

“To run down my energy. Hanzo wanted to take me to the hospital but I can’t go to the hospital so Brigitte took me here because I can’t do what I normally do because she has family over. I also accidentally almost ate a lot of food without paying and I can’t get arrested”.

“..What..?”. 

“Oh”, he said, looking up and laughing. “I can’t get arrested because I’m a superhero”. 

“...What? Wh- What are you-“.

“Genji!”, Brigitte said, walking to him and grasping his arm. “There you are. Oh- Angela- hi”.

“Does he need to go to a hospital? His pupils are...VERY dilated. And he went on a nonsensical rant and told me he was a superhero”, Angela said. “Did he...take something?”.

“He- no! No, no”, Brigitte laughed- and a bit too exaggeratedly. 

“I am a superhero”, Genji said, confused that it was being denied. “Pretty famous?”.

Brigitte laughed again- loudly- to the point where SHE attracted a few gazes. “Ahahah! Oh, Genji! You’re hilarious!”.

“What‘s so funny?! I thought- but I- I’m Sen-“, he stammered, helpless. 

“YOU….are proving all of my apprehensions to this earlier correct, buddy! Get a hold of yourself!”, she hissed in a whisper, lightly punching his arm. 

“I should call someone- he’s obviously not okay”, Angela said slowly, giving Genji a heavily concerned look as she pulled out her phone. 

“No!”, Brigitte said, gasping. “No- wait- Angela- ugh..follow us”, she said, and pulled Genji along, motioning for Angela to follow them. 

She was hesitant, but luckily she did, and Brigitte led them all to the restrooms, shoving Genji and Angela into a family one, and going in after them, turning around and locking the door. 

“She’s gonna kill us”, Genji whispered, eyes wide, then gasped dramatically. “We’re gonna die!”.

“Genji! Please!”, Brigitte said, pressing a hand to the side of her face. “No- Angela. Look. Please, please, please take this information as seriously as you can. He’s not doing me any favors on being a credible source right now, but please trust me”.

“Okay..?”, Angela said, curling her lip. 

“He is Sentai. And- and his powers are going crazy right now, but it’s okay, so you don’t have to call any paramedics or anything! I know it’s hard to believe, Angela, but please- this is exactly what I wanted to avoid today”.

“She’s been on my ass about it”, Genji added, shaking his head. 

“Angela, you cannot tell ANYONE. It’s a big drop on you, I know, but I’m serious”. 

Angela sat there for a moment, blinking and seeming to process all the words that were just said to her. “So he’s...okay? Medically?”.

“Yes. More or less”, Brigitte said softly, nodding. 

“Okay..”, Angela breathed, looking down. “And...he is Sentai? For real?”.

“For realsies”, Genji said, grinning. “Check it out”. 

He leaped backwards, leaving behind his iconic green blur, but he promptly hit his head into the wall, yelping as he slipped on the tiled floor. Brigitte winced, but stopped Angela as she started forwards. “He’s fine”, she said quickly. 

“So- What do I do now?”, Angela asked, letting out a breathy, disbelieving laugh. “What- how am I supposed to handle this information? This is all going so quickly-“.

“Meet up with us tomorrow at my dad’s workshop- noon. We can explain things to you and get you caught up so you don’t have to pry about anything, you just have to promise to keep your mouth shut. I’m sorry, Angela. That you had to find out this way or find out at ALL. Oh, I should have never agreed to go to the mall”.

“It’s okay. I understand...I’ll be there. I need to go and just...sit with it, I guess. Please be careful, okay?”, she said, and turned to look at Genji, still on the floor. “Especially you, Genji. Get better soon”. 

“Bye, Angie”, Genji sighed, waving to her as she briskly exited the room, leaving just Genji and Brigitte alone again. 

Brigitte groaned, rubbing her temples, staring wide-eyed at the floor before she turned around and took Genji’s hand, helping him up. “Come on. Let’s go home”. 

——

By the time Genji and Brigitte got back, it was just beginning to be the afternoon, and Genji could tell Brigitte immediately relaxed the moment they stepped into the workshop. He looked over as he noticed a group of people all lounging about the main area of the shop, and they noticed them too. 

“Brigitte! There you are! And Genji- hello, dear”, Ingrid- Brigitte’s mother- greeted. 

Brigitte obviously tried to suppress her panic (so obviously that Genji noticed) as Genji walked over to them, smiling, and she simply followed. 

“So you’re the infamous Genji”, a woman said, who was sitting next to Torbjörn on one side, with a very large man- much larger than the rest- with gray hair and a scar over one eye- on the other side of her. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ana”. 

“Ana! I’ve heard about you! You’re a doctor”, he said, closing one eye and pointing at her. 

Ana laughed. “Why, yes! I am”.

“And very good at her job!”, the large man added in a very loud voice. 

“Reinhardt, please”.

“The best!”.

Genji smiled at the two, but his gaze was brought over to a girl sitting on an adjacent seat. She wore a blue tank top and resembled Ana- ah, that must be Fareeha. “Wow. You ARE buff”, Genji commented, squinting at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. He heard Reinhardt guffaw. 

“Haha!! Yeahhh”, Brigitte said awkwardly, stepping in front of Genji. “Anyway! I should probably be getting this guy home”.

“Already? You two just got back”, Ingrid said, giving Brigitte a confused look. “Why don’t you stay a while? I’ve fixed some pumpkin pie!”.

“Oooh, food!”, Genji said happily. “Yes, we should totally stay”. 

Brigitte looked to the side, hesitant, then shrugged. “Why not?”. 

Genji grinned as Ana stood up and led him upstairs where they’d gotten the pie, while he caught a glance of Brigitte joining the group just before he made it to where he couldn’t see her anymore. He quickly fetched his own slice, and swiftly headed back downstairs, Ana trailing slowly behind, surprised by Genji’s energy. 

He took a seat in a free chair near the group, and contently (and very, very quickly) ate the slice, while the rest conversed. 

“Brigitte, you seem so rattled! Is everything okay, darling?”, Ingrid questioned, looking over at her daughter. 

“Everything is okay, Mama. It’s just been a bit of a crazy day”, she said with a soft laugh, leaning back into her seat, but not before passing a subtle glance to Fareeha. “But it’s fine, really”.

“Okay. Well, I’m sure some food will help. You look starved!”.

“Just a little worn out”, she replied, and this time with a true laugh. 

Genji slowly slumped over, his content smile fading as he watched everyone smile and talk, and Ingrid brush Brigitte’s hair behind her ear. He sat there for a moment, before standing up and setting the plate on the chair. Ingrid, Brigitte, and Ana looked over at him. 

“Sorry! Just- going out to get a breath of fresh air”, he said, and went up the stairs, further up through the home above the shop, then all the way to the roof. 

Brigitte, concerned he was going to start jumping across rooftops or something, excused herself and hurried after him. What she arrived to, though, was him sitting near the edge of the building, knees curled in close to his chest. 

“Genji..?”, she asked, slowly stepping forwards and making her way over to sit next to him. She was visibly startled to see his eyes wet with tears. 

“Oh, hey”, he said, glancing over at her, then wiped the tears from his eyes. “That pie is really good”.

“What’s the matter?”, she asked softly, leaning against him. 

“Nothing. Well- something. I just-..I don’t know”, he whispered, glancing off, all the jittery energy from before seemingly replaced by heavy emotion. 

“Come on, you can talk to me”, she said, making him meet her gaze. “Please…?”.

Genji reached up to grasp his silver locket, his hair being ruffled by the wind. “...Your mom is really nice. All your family and friends...are really nice. It’s cool, you know? To have all that company that’s so close to you”.

“And..?”.

“And...I don’t know. For the longest time it was just me, Hanzo and Father. Now it’s just me and Hanzo and...I don’t really remember my mother”. 

“Oh, Genji”, she said sympathetically, hugging him from the side. 

“I don’t normally-“, he started, then sniffled, wiping his eyes. “-I don’t normally get so emotional about it”. 

“Well, I think you have your reasons right now, huh? Just the repercussions of having super cool superpowers”. 

Genji chuckled quietly. “Yeah…sometimes I wish I could tell Hanzo. But I know that would be...a really bad idea. He already has enough to worry about”. 

“I understand”, Brigitte whispered, looking down. “But..you’ve got me, right? And Angela now, as abrupt and unintentional as that was. And Papa. And you know, we may not be related or anything, but you feel like family to me”.

Genji nodded and smiled softly at her, leaning his head against her shoulder. 

Brigitte smiled back. “What do you say we go back downstairs now that you’re not so crazy, huh?”.

“Sounds good”, Genji said, and stood up, proceeding to reach down and help her up. “...Thanks, Brig”.

“Anytime, Genji”.

“You know…we should go back to the mall when the sky doesn’t look as easily accessible to me as it does right now”, he said, looking up then blinking, making himself look back down. 

“That’s a good idea. And no identity confessions next time, either”, she laughed, and he stepped forwards to open the door to the stairs for her. 

“I can make no such promises”, he said with a wink. 

She punched his arm, grinning, and the door shut behind them, the wind whistling outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Genji’s and Brigitte’s friendship, so I really wanted to flesh that out this chapter, plus set up a few things for the future :))


	5. Prior Pathways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji is introduced to many responsibilities he’s set himself up to deal with.

Genji woke up with a major headache. 

He groaned and placed his hand on the side of his head, gazing groggily up at the ceiling. He huffed and sat up, green hair falling in his face. He was never going to let Brigitte ward him away from doing his job again. 

Hell- what had even happened the previous day? He could remember a few things, but upon trying to dig around in his memory, he realized that as the day went on, he could remember less and less. He hoped things didn’t get too crazy, at least. But, the surest way to know was to visit Brigitte. 

It was Saturday, so no other responsibilities that weren't Sentai were plaguing him. Glancing over at the clock on his nightstand, he noticed it was approaching noon. Wincing, surprised he’d slept that long, he swiftly clambered out of bed, straightening out his simple, slightly oversized white tee. 

Strolling out of his room, he wasn’t surprised to see Hanzo already gone, having left for work. It was a nice day- Genji could tell. Pale light wafted through the windows, the apartment lit in a serene glow; it was too bad Hanzo didn’t have time to indulge in it. Useful for Genji, though, as it’d be a lot harder to get his job done if his big brother were around all the time. 

He ran his hand along the marble countertop, strolling into the kitchen to fix himself a quick bowl of cereal before he headed out. He tapped his foot against the tile floor surrounding the island, not particularly enjoying how quiet the place was, but not feeling motivated enough to actually do something about it in what short time he had left in there. 

By the time he’d finished his food and gotten dressed in tight jeans, a tighter fit tee, and a delightfully poofy jacket, a good ten minutes had passed. Using his powers to get ready for the day was helpful, especially since Hanzo wasn’t around, and that way he could get out of the door ASAP. Snatching his keys to the apartment and making some final adjustments to his hair- now spiked back- he bounded through the doorway and out of the complex, smiling as pure sunlight finally met his face, and he came full force to the sounds of the city. 

It wasn’t all the time, but often, Genji was reminded of why he decided to be Sentai in the first place. The republic of New Unity was blissful, and people came there to live a good life and have good education and jobs. It was cool and modern and colorful, and it was his home. It wasn’t just the people he knew- it was the people he didn’t know- really, especially the people he didn’t know. He couldn’t let the bad outweigh the good. He wanted people to see the city as he saw it. 

And, of course, being a celebrity wasn’t so bad either. He needed something to maintain his iconic ego. 

He stuck his hands in his pockets as he approached the Lindholm’s- opening the door with his foot, and smiling when he heard the little chime of the shop bell, which signaled Brigitte, still dressed in loose-fitting house clothes, to meet him at the entrance with a hug. 

“I was wondering when you were gonna come over! Angela should be here any second”.

“Angela?”, Genji said confusedly. “Why would she be coming over?”.

Brigitte stared at him for a moment before furrowing her brow, glancing to the side. “Oh...so you..don’t remember..?”.

“Dear god, woman, what did I do?”, Genji huffed in a light tone, confused by her expression. 

Brigitte tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then crossed her arms, clenching her jaw. “Well...I mean, you kinda told her you were Sentai? Inadvertently? Kind of? It was complicated...but I told her to come over today around this time, so- yeah..”.

“Really?”, Genji responded, his eyes widening. “Wh- but- seriously?!”. He groaned, facepalming. “Wonderful”. 

“Well, whatever, it’s done and over with now. All that matters at this point is just getting across to her all that comes with knowing. And by that, I mean just...not telling anyone and not freaking out. And we’re gonna answer all her questions so she doesn’t ask any more of them, okay?”.

“Okay, okay”, Genji said, looking down and taking a breath. “But she knows? She for sure knows?”.

“Yeah. She knows”, Brigitte said flatly, then looked up as the door chimed. 

Angela stepped through, lifting a small pair of white-rimmed sunglasses up from her eyes to glance around before her gaze landed on them. She smiled, but it was a little crooked, her gaze obviously concerned, at the least. Genji wrung his hands together.

After a quick greeting, Brigitte beckoned with her hand, and the three headed upstairs and through the house to arrive in Brigitte’s room. It was quaint, with a few miscellaneous posters by her bed, but otherwise the room had a planning board, with a few whiteboards around it, a little carpet cat tree, a desk with blueprints on it and a tinkering station right next to it. The curtains in front of her window were orange, which tinted the room.

Genji hopped onto her bed, letting it bounce before sitting up to face Angela, who took off her gray jacket and set it by the door, and taking a seat by Genji as Brigitte sat down at her desk, turning the chair to face them. 

“Yo”, Genji greeted softly, giving Angela a hug from the side, and Angela seemed to check him for any signs of how he was the previous day before smiling and giving him a hug back. 

“Are you feeling better? You looked awful yesterday”, she commented, tilting her head a bit, and swept her blonde bang to the side. 

“Gee, thanks. But yeah- a lot better”, Genji responded, leaning back against the wall. 

“I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions”, Brigitte interjected with an awkward laugh, placing one leg over the other, tapping her fingers on her thigh. 

“Yes, I do. And now that I know...y’know..it makes a lot of sense, but a lot of it doesn’t. How on earth do you do all that, Genji? Climbing buildings and fighting all those criminals, I mean”, Angela said, shaking her head. 

“Superpowers”, Genji answered simply with a shrug, which only prompted a more perplexed look from Angela. 

Brigitte quickly cleared her throat to grab attention. “Any specific questions you have we can answer. Thoroughly, I might add- not just vague answers. Genji”.

“I don’t know...I mean, I suppose a lot of it is self-explanatory, but..what happened to you yesterday? Why were you...like that, exactly?”.

“It was a...power overload, you said?”, Genji answered, looking over to Brigitte, then back to Angela. “Apparently if I don’t have a good way to filter all my energy my powers give me, my body doesn’t know how to process it. So that’s fun”.

“And you’re- being safe? Out when you’re..doing your job, I mean”, Angela asked, giving him a sideways look. 

“As safe as I can be; sure”, Genji said. “I mean, my armor is...armored. And padded. And I’ve got superhuman strength and agility so things don’t get too bad. I mean, I can deflect bullets”. His tone swiftly turned from informative to a little more boastful, a smirk creeping into his expression. 

Angela took a long breath out of her mouth, looking down. “Okay! I mean...It’s- a lot. Not that I doubt you or anything, it’s just finding out your best friend is also a superhero? As bizarre as that sounds when I say it out loud? But, really, Genji- I suppose now that I know- I just want to know that you’re safe”.

“You worry so much, Angie”, Genji said, leaning fondly against her. “I don’t want to add on to that list of things you worry about...any more than I already do- hah”. 

Angela smiled at him, her blue gaze a little less anxious than before. “I know. I understand...just please don’t leave me in the dark after this? Please? I promise I won’t spill the secret or anything, but I don’t want to be left wondering if you’re okay”.

“You’ll see me the next day at school”, Genji pointed out, noticing Brigitte’s unsure look. 

“I know, but I don’t want to wait that long. Texts every night, please”, Angela replied, grinning.

Genji chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Okay, Doc. Texts every night”. 

Brigitte pursed her upper lip, but didn’t say anything more, to Genji’s relief. 

“So...It’s just us? As in, Brigitte and I are the only ones who know?”, Angela questioned. 

“Yeah. And my dad”, Brigitte replied. “He’s the one who built Genji’s suit”. 

“Ahhh”, Angela said, nodding. “Makes sense. So..what now?”.

“I’m planning to pay Hanzo a visit before I go out and...do my thing”, Genji said, glancing up casually. “Do you guys want to come with me?”.

“Sorry, Gen. I have to stay and help Papa with the shop”, Brigitte responded, giving him an apologetic look. 

“I can come”, Angela piped up. “I don’t really have anything to do today, anyway”.

“Wow! That’s so unlike you”, Genji commented, cocking an eyebrow, to which Angela giggled. 

“I know, I know. But I haven’t seen Hanzo in a while! We can catch up”, Angela replied. 

“Well, he’s not too chatty when he’s working, but That’s what I like about paying him visits. I just like to pester him”, Genji said, and stood up. He walked over to Brigitte and bent down to pull her into a hug. “I’ll come by later”.

Brigitte nodded, and lightly punched his arm as he headed out, followed by Angela, who gave Brigitte a quick goodbye as well. Before long, the two headed back to the city streets, and they chatted as they walked through the busy crowds. When they approached Hanzo’s work, Genji was relieved to find a place where they could sit down. 

“Well, I heard that Sentai has abs. Rock solid abs”, he conversed as they approached the entrance, to which Angela rolled her eyes at, and turned her gaze to the store. 

It was a tea shop- a simple place that Hanzo found decent work at. It was enough to maintain rent while not having to utilize the money their father left them, anyway. Genji wondered why Hanzo didn’t just use that, but he never bothered to pry. He asked Hanzo a lot of questions anyway- it was at least decent enough of him to leave that one out. 

It had simple, dark colors, with a dark wood floor and a menu that was just a small list of drinks with little pictures along the edge. All the tables were round and small and there were a couple of booths by one wall. A few smaller tables sat near the window, and Genji smiled when he spotted Hanzo cleaning off the farthest one. 

“Anija!”, he called, bounding over and throwing his arms around his brother, to which Hanzo looked down at him, startled. “You didn’t say goodbye this morning”.

“After the day you had yesterday, I just assumed you needed your sleep”, Hanzo said, trying as politely as he could to pry his little brother off of him. 

“Thanks. A real help”, Genji sighed, then stepped back. “But look! I brought a friend”. 

“Angela”, Hanzo greeted upon seeing her. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Genji’s always going over to Brigitte’s recently”.

Angela gave a little nervous laugh. “Hah! Yeah...but I’ve been busy. I’ve been doing internships at the Unity Hospital. I’m trying to go to college to become a surgeon”. 

“Hm! A surgeon. That certainly pays well”, Hanzo commented, impressed. 

Angela nodded, looking down. “Yes...but..Well, I just want to save lives, is all. The money’s great, of course, but It’s always been the idea of being able to help others that’s attracted me to it”.

Genji knew the feeling. He smiled softly at his friend, then looked back to Hanzo. 

“Me and Angie are stopping by for some tea before I go over to Brig’s. If you want tea, I mean”, he said, glancing back over to her. 

“Yes! Tea sounds wonderful”, Angela said quickly, and Genji asked her to find a good table. 

“Well. Do you have any career plans like that?”, Hanzo huffed, looking down at Genji, still obviously very impressed by Genji’s blonde friend. 

Genji chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe not as extensive as that, but...I’m just trying to focus on school, for now. Anyway! I’m gonna go- order with Ang”, he replied and hurried off to join her. A career talk was the last thing he wanted to encounter on the weekend. 

He and Angela made their orders- a raspberry tea for her, and green tea for him, and then they went back to their table by the window, listening to the chiming music and chatting for almost a half hour, which Genji could tell, out of the corner of his eye, that Hanzo was stunned by how long two teenagers could simply talk. Genji tapped his foot as he and Angela conversed, and he was happy to simply be hanging out with her and not spilling his most secret secrets while high on power energy. It also made him doubly grateful that Brigitte took him away when she did, so he wouldn’t be telling any of that to Hanzo. 

It wasn’t long before Genji had finished his tea, and he bid Angela goodbye, giving her a farewell peck on the cheek, then hugging Hanzo goodbye, despite his brother’s protests since he was in a “professional setting”. He and Angela walked out of the shop, and waving to each other, they went their separate ways. 

Genji hurried back to the Lindholm residence, surprised to see Ana talking with Torbjörn, Brigitte sitting near them. When he walked through, she looked up and went over to him. He noticed that- upon seeing Genji- Torbjörn subtly moved Ana to a spot in the ro that had a blocked view of the counter, making it so that Genji and Brigitte could sneak down into the Sentai Bunker. 

The duo made their way down, Genji giddy to finally get to doing what he’d been waiting to do for what felt like weeks (despite it being only two days). Maybe he’d actually get in some action this time instead of snooping and sneaking around- not that he didn’t like that kind of thing. It was fun, and using his ninja skills was always great, but there was more to it than being sneaky. Such as absolutely decking bad guys to the point where they don’t want to get back up. Just as an example. 

Torb was keeping the family and friends busy upstairs while Genji suited up, and he returned to Brigitte, scrolling through a tablet. “There’s nothing specific I have for you...I think, with those plans you found, the best thing you can do is do a bit of detective work. And we have our lead”.

“Jesse McCree”, Genji said, nodding, as he held his helmet in the crook of his arm. 

“Right. Maybe he can point you in some kind of direction to look. The sooner we find out what Deadlock is planning, the better”.

Genji drummed his fingers against his helmet, looking to the side in contemplation, then put it on, rolling his shoulders back in a stretch. “So what, I’m interrogating him? Cool”, he said, voice now tinged with the metallic filter. 

Brigitte huffed a laugh, smiling at him. “No. He’s not against us- you don’t have to be mean. Just ask him if he knows anything POLITELY. We don’t want him to not like us. Well, not like you”. 

“I’m never mean”, he responded, crossing his arms. “I’m the nicest person there is”. 

“Sure, bud”, Brigitte said simply, and patted him on the back. “You know where to go. Just keep me updated!”.

“Will do”, he said, flashing her a thumbs up, then bounded out towards the back, leaping out onto the city and climbing on the nearest roof.

Sentai took a moment to adjust, finding which way he was going, then he leapt towards a light post, using it to propel himself further in a jump, garnering a few gasps from the crowds below. He smirked. He leapt towards another building, running along the side of it for a very brief moment, then pushed off, latching to the side of an adjacent roof, then climbing up. 

It felt good to be doing it again- he never wanted to take another hiatus from it, however short. He understood Brigitte’s concerns regarding the previous problem, but he still didn’t think it was enough to prevent him from doing his thing. But then again, he supposed it was easier to feel that way in the moment. 

He performed a simple bound from roof-to-roof down the street until he eventually reached Jesse’s work, using the sign over the door to hang off of and peer, upside-down, into the window, his white scarf dangling loosely. He squinted when he saw Jesse, simply cleaning the counter of the bar, and flipped down onto the sidewalk. Sentai then strolled in casually, opening the glass door of the diner, and McCree looked up. 

“Oh, well, howdy! Wasn’t expectin’ a visit today”, he greeted, tilting his hat up. 

Sentai felt the impulse to snicker at his accent, but made sure he kept the serious persona on. “I’m investigating Deadlock- I found some plans of theirs in a warehouse and I was wondering if you knew anything about them”. Sentai pulled out his phone, showing Jesse the pictures he took down in the cellar. 

The cowman leaned over to peer at the photos for a good moment, then clicked his tongue. “Sorry, I ain’t seen those before. But maybe if yer lookin’ for plans, I could show you a few of their old bases? I dunno if they’re still occupied since I left, but it’s somewhere to start. If anything, maybe since they’re not spendin’ too much time in ‘em anymore, that might be where they keep some info”. 

“Maybe”, Sentai said, taking the phone back then crossing his arms. He wanted to think that Jesse was leading him into a trap, and he’d fight off a horde of gang members, only to return heroically (to McCree’s surprise) and have him arrested. Then, at least, the cowman wouldn’t be hitting on his brother. Deep down, Sentai knew that wasn’t the case and it wasn’t going to be the case, but the childish imaginative thought kept his suspicions up. 

McCree took a napkin and jotted down a few streets and numbers, marking about four locations. “Here. These are the only places I could think of that might have somethin’”.

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon, Cowman”, Sentai said, waving McCree a two-fingered salute goodbye. Jesse made a curious face, but he was quick to mask it, and Sentai found it odd, but decided not to linger on it for time’s sake. 

He walked out of the diner and looked up to the roof, only to be halted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see two women, one pale with her brown hair tied up in a bun and glasses, wearing a polo shirt, and the other in a black pencil skirt, with a button-up shirt, and bobbed blonde hair. They both looked to be about middle-aged, which was not Sentai’s usual audience for autographs. 

“Sorry for stopping you so suddenly! Do you have a moment to talk?”, the polo one asked, giving him a smile. 

“Er- yes, I do, I guess”, Sentai responded, a little surprised. He didn’t want to stop and chat, but he didn’t exactly have the will to tell two ladies no. “What did you need?”.

“Oh, great! I’m Katherine Levine, and this is Donna Lawrence. We’re supervisors of New Unity’s school district, and one thing we’ve noticed is that the children- well, they really like you, to phrase it simply!”, she introduced with a light chuckle. 

Donna then stepped forwards, clearing her throat. “Katherine and I have been trying to find a good time to talk with you for a while now, but you are a little hard to come across. We’re glad to catch you when we did”, she said in a thick French accent. “We can elaborate if you take interest or agree, but the school board has been thinking that it might be good for the kids if they heard directly from a common idol- you, that is. Perhaps in a scheduled assembly”.

“You want me to...do..a PSA?”, Sentai questioned, making a perplexed expression under the mask. 

“Yes, exactly!”, Katherine said brightly. “We want to encourage children and inform them in ways of being- well, everyday superheroes! Not littering, making other kids feel included, doing community work, that sort of thing. We’re sure they’ve heard stuff like that a million times before, but maybe it’d come to a new light to them coming from someone like you!”. 

“We could pay you”, Donna interjected. “It wouldn’t just be volunteer work if you don’t want it to be- we’re sure you’re very busy anyhow”. 

The teenager in Sentai said no way. Getting up in front of kids his age or younger? For public speaking? Yikes. However, the hero in him said it would be a crime to say no- these women had been looking for him for a while, and all it would be is just spreading a positive message to students. He couldn’t let his personal anxieties trump that, right? 

“No payment needed”, he said, raising a gloved hand. “I’d be happy to do that for you”. 

“Really?! Oh that would be great- thank you!”, Katherine responded jovially, bouncing on her heels. “I’m sure you’ve got somewhere to be, so is there any way we can best contact you?”.

“Uh. Do you have a pen?”, Sentai asked, tilting his head a bit. 

“Oh! Yeah!”, Katherine said, and pulled out a little pen and notepad, handing it to him. 

“Thanks. Here- just text or call this. I might not respond straight away but it shouldn't be long before I get back to you if that happens”, he said, taking the notepad and jotting down his alternate number on it. 

“Wonderful! Thank you so much”, Katherine said, taking back the notepad. “The kids are gonna love it. Uh- goodbye! We’ll be sure to get back to you!”. 

He saw Donna amusingly take Katherine’s hand and lead her away, then he turned back and exhaled, leaping onto a roof for a quick moment of solitude to calm his nerves. A PSA. No big deal. He’s done interviews and cameos and the like before, what was so bad about a school PSA? 

Nothing. Nothing bad. Inherently, anyway. 

Shaking his head and pulling out the drawn-on napkin, he analyzed the various places McCree had put down for him. The nearest one wasn’t too far away, he figured he’d check that one out first, and if nothing was there, he’d check one more before calling it a night. It was already getting later in the day, and he didn’t want to linger in his work. 

Putting away the napkin, Sentai cracked his knuckles and dove off the roof, reaching forwards until his gloved hand grasped a flag pole, and he hung on it for a moment. Kicking forwards and back, he gained momentum until he got enough motion to launch himself towards a wall, run up it, and onto a much higher roof. He landed in a low pose, then stood up, tapping his helmet to get into comms with Brigitte. 

“I got a few places from McCree. He says they’re probably abandoned but they might hold something useful”, Sentai said, which was met with a moment of contemplation from the other line.

“Okay. But be careful- it could be a trap”, she said.

Sentai felt a quick moment of satisfaction from her matching sentiments, but he then sighed. “Maybe...but I trust Jesse. Besides, it’s Deadlock. I should be able to handle them if I run into trouble”. 

“I guess”, Brigitte responded. “Anything else?”.

“Yeah- right when I left the diner, these two ladies came up to me. Apparently they were from the school board that kinda runs the whole education department of New Unity? Besides the colleges, of course- but they told me they’ve been looking for me for a while, and they wanted me to do PSAs at the schools”.

“Wait- seriously?”, Brigitte said, with a small laugh. “Did you say yes?”.

“Of course I did! It’s not a big deal, anyway”.

“Uh- what about you ditching school, huh?”.

Sentai went silent. 

“Yeah. Didn’t think about that, did you?”.

“Well...maybe..I don’t ditch school. Maybe by the time the assembly rolls around, I duck away and change into the suit”, Sentai offered.

“But you’ll be visiting multiple schools”, Brigitte pointed out. “Even if you did that, you’d have to miss some classes, and Hanzo would wonder where you went”. 

“Maybe I could...fake being sick? Ferris Bueller style”, he said, looking up as he took a seat on the roof. “That way my absence would be excused and Hanzo would think I’m home”.

“But what if he stayed to take care of you? What then?”.

“I could just tell him I’ll be fine on my own. He listens to me if I say the same thing a certain number of times”, Sentai said dryly. 

“Well...that seems to be our best plan for now. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything better- and you do the same. But for now, focus on scouting out those places. We can talk about it more when you get back. Hey- are you gonna bring puppets to that PSA?”.

“Verrrry funny”, Sentai replied, rolling his eyes under the helmet. 

“You can call me up for the skits if you want”.

“Okay bye!!”.

“You have to introduce yourself as Special Guest Speaker”.

“Sayonara”, he huffed, then hung up, shaking his head as he smirked. 

He didn’t care whatever Brigitte decided to make fun of him about. He was sure it was gonna be a good thing to spread some sort of positivity, even if it made him uncomfortable. He was bound to get some sort of praise anyway. He WAS Sentai, after all. 

Stretching out, he did more of his transportational acrobatics across the skyline, eventually visiting two places. One was an old warehouse not dissimilar to the one he’d visited the other day. However, this one, upon thorough searching, didn’t seem to have anything in it, and appeared to be truly abandoned. The next was a smaller building that was what looked like an old bar or something- maybe a place they’d gather to discuss things. And, again, there was nothing there to Sentai’s disappointment. And furthermore, no action, which disappointed him even beyond. 

Frustrated with the results, Sentai reluctantly came to the conclusion that he should call it a night, and pick things back up first time the next day, when Hanzo wouldn’t be suspicious of his whereabouts. He took at least some optimism in the fact that he marked two suspect locations off the list, which meant it was more likely for the next two to have something...he hoped. 

After dropping off the suit back at Brigitte’s and making short conversation to wrap up his outing as Sentai, he quickly arrived back home, ready to chill on the couch after a day of being out and about. He noticed that Hanzo was already home, since the TV was on, playing some Julia Roberts movie (Hanzo watched so many of them, it was hard for Genji to differentiate between the movies at that point). He set his keys down on the counter and took off his jacket and shoes, setting them by the door, then he proceeded to bound to the couch, where he stopped himself from leaping on it due to the fact that Hanzo seemed to be taking a nap. 

Genji slowed himself down, not wanting to wake his brother abruptly (as funny as that would be), and instead opted for the nicer way, out of the goodness of his heart. Sitting down softly and slowly, he let himself lean over his older brother until his weight was most assuredly crushing him, and he smiled cheekily when he heard Hanzo wake up with a frustrated groan. 

“Genji?”, he said groggily, lifting his head just enough to peer back at his little brother. 

“Good morning, sunshine”, Genji greeted, resting his chin on his hand. “Rough day?”.

“No. Just a rough week. Month. Year….”, Hanzo said slowly, then rested his head back down on the couch pillow. 

“Yeah...yeah..”, Genji sighed, and the two brothers sat in silence for a moment. “...Hey. I heard Sentai is gonna be giving a PSA at our school sometime soon”. 

“Is he? Well, that must be exciting for you”, Hanzo replied, obviously half asleep. 

“Yeah, it is. You okay?”.

“I’m fine. Are you okay?”.

“I’m fine”, Genji responded softly, staring up at the ceiling. 

“That’s good…”, Hanzo mumbled, blatantly drifting back to sleep. 

Slowly, Genji stood up, and ventured into his room, only to come back out with a large, thin white blanket. Settling back into his spot on the couch, he rested his head by the opposite end of where Hanzo was resting. He lifted the white blanket and let it drape over him and his brother, then sighed shifting a bit to get comfortable, and laid on his side. 

“...Love you”, he mumbled, sticking one hand under the pillow for support, glancing over.

“Mm..love you too”, Hanzo replied, and Genji knew his brother probably wouldn’t remember the conversation when he woke back up. 

Closing his eyes, Genji relaxed fully, his muscles aching from his prior activity in the city. Letting the hazy dialogue of the movie lull him to sleep, he closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn’t so action heavy- it’s mostly for setting up things that I’m planning on heavily expanding on in future chapters! So no worries- the next chapter will be much more exciting.


End file.
